UC-NRLF 


I 


HINTS 


TO 


SMALL  LIBRARIES 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


HINTS 


TO 


SMALL  LIBRARIES 


BY 


MARY   WRIGHT   PLUMMER 

DIRECTOR  PRATT  INSTITUTE  SCHOOL  OF  LIBRARY  SCIENCE, 
BROOKLYN,  NEW  YORK 


FOURTH  EDITION 


AMERICAN  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 
PUBUSHING  BOARD 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 
igii 


\l\\\ 


COPYRIGHT,  1894,  BY 

M.  W.  PLUMMER 
Librarian  of  Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn,  New  York 

COPYRIGHT,  1898,  BY 

TRUSLOVE  &  COMBA,  NEW  YORK 

COPYRIGHT,  1902,  BY 
M.  W.  PLUMMER. 

COPYRIGHT,  1911,  BY 
M.  W.  PLUMMER. 


PREFACE   TO   FIRST   EDITION 


A  DMITTING  the  wisdom  of  the  saying  that  "children  should 
/\^  be  seen  and  not  heard,"  and  the  fact  that  Pratt  Institute 
Free  Library  is  still  of  tender  years,  it  is  also  not  to  be 
denied  that  there  comes  a  time  when  even  children  must  speak 
and  abide  by  the  consequences.  The  Library  has  had  so  many 
letters  from  persons  at  a  distance,  as  well  as  many  visitors, 
asking  advice  or  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  starting  or  reor- 
ganizing of  small  libraries  or  the  best  methods  of  carrying  them 
on,  that  it  seems  best  to  put  its  suggestions  into  tangible  form. 
They  profess  to  be  no  more  than  suggestions ;  some  of  them  the 
Library  has  tried,  others  it  has  heard  of  and  thought  reasonable. 
The  main  endeavor  throughout  these  few  chapters  has  been  to 
keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  are  libraries  scattered  all  over  the 
country  that  have  very  little  of  anything  but  ambition  and  good 
will  to  go  upon.  Their  stock  of  money,  labor,  and  time  is 
limited,  wherefore  it  is  of  no  use  to  recommend  to  them  tools  or 
processes  that  require  much  of  these  commodities. 

The  trained  librarian  will  not  feel  the  need  of  such  a  pamphlet 
as  this,  since  he  or  she  probably  knows  of  or  could  evolve  a  system 
equally  well  or  better  adapted  to  the  circumstances,  so  the  audi- 
ence sifts  itself  down  to  small  libraries  which  have  to  consider 
economy,  whose  librarians  are  not  trained  and  have  no  opportunity 
to  take  training.  And  even  for  them,  it  is  hoped  these  suggestions 
may  be  only  a  point  of  departure  from  which  to  continue  their 
own  investigations  in  the  field  of  library  economy. 

Thanks  are  due  and  are  sincerely  tendered  to  several  friends 

224473 


4         ' ,  Kints  to  Small  Libraries 

interested  in  librarianship,  who  have  kindly  read  these  chapters, 
and  whose  suggestions  have  been  gladly  received. 

To  those  other  friends  who,  individually  or  collectively,  have 
helped  to  feed  the  springs  of  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  which  this 
little  undertaking  has  had  its  origin,  thanks  are  no  less  due, 
though  their  part  in  it  can  be  less  definitely  specified.  If  there 
be  any  profession  in  which  there  is  community  of  ideas,  it  is  that 
of  librarianship,  and  from  the  common  stock  every  one  is  encour- 
aged to  take  that  which  he  can  make  of  use  to  himself  and  others. 
When  the  long-desired  A.  L.  A.  manual  shall  appear,  no  one 
will  greet  it  more  gladly  than  the  present  writer ;  meanwhile,  since 
the  choice  is  between  a  half  loaf  and  no  bread,  she  feels  herself 
constrained  to  offer  the  former. 

PRATT  INSTITUTE,  M.  W.  P. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
March,  1894. 


PREFACE   TO   SECOND   EDITION 


NO  other  work  of  a  similar  grade  and  scope  having  appeared 
in  the  field,  and  the  demand  from  small  libraries  and 
schools  of  library  science  continuing  a  steady  one,  the 
author  feels  it  incumbent  on  her  to  supply  this  demand   from 
a    second    edition,    the    first,    of    one    thousand    copies,    being 
exhausted.     The  book  has  been  revised  and  enlarged  as  far  as 
might  be  without  destroying  the  original  ideal  of  simplicity  and 
economy.  M.  W.  P. 

PRATT  INSTITUTE  FREE  LIBRARY, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 

March,  1898. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I. — RECEIVING  AND  ENTERING  BOOKS 7 

II. — BOOK-NUMBERS  AND  CATALOGUING 17 

III. — CATALOGUING 21 

IV. — THE  SHELF-LIST  AND  INVENTORY 27 

V. — MECHANICAL  PREPARATION  OF  BOOKS  FOR  THE  SHELVES  : — BINDING  .   30 
VI. — RELATIONS  WITH  THE  PUBLIC  : — REGISTRATION         ...        35 

VII. — THE  CHARGING  SYSTEM 38 

VIII. — READING-ROOM  AND   REFERENCE-ROOM   WORK          ...        45 

IX. — SELECTING  AND   ORDERING  BOOKS 56 

X. —ROOMS  AND  FIXTURES 60 

XI. — LIBRARY  TOOLS 63 


CHAPTER   I 
RECEIVING  AND  ENTERING  BOOKS 

WE  will  suppose  that  your  books  are  already  bought,  and 
that  they  are  still  in  the  boxes. 

Generally  the  librarian  of  the  small  library  is  relieved 
of  the  pleasant  duty  of  selecting  books  by  his  or  her  committee, 
who  are  often  persons  of  literary  tastes,  and  who  undertake  to 
do  the  ordering.  A  chapter  on  selecting  and  ordering  will  be 
given  at  the  end  of  this  handbook,  however,  for  the  use  of 
those  librarians  to  whom  the  work  is  new,  and  who  have  the  sole 
responsibility  of  buying. 

The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  compare  your  bills  with  the  books 
as  you  take  them  from  the  boxes,  checking  on  the  bill  every  item 
that  is  found  correct.  Errors  in  price  or  books  sent  which  have 
to  be  returned  for  any  reason,  should  not  be  deducted  from  the 
bill,  as  this  method  would  surely  cause  discrepancies  between  the 
library's  accounts  and  the  dealer's.  Whatever  is  sent  back  should 
be  charged  to  the  dealer  in  a  small  book,  opened  for  the  purpose, 
and  a  bill  sent.  Errors  in  the  dealer's  favor  should  also  be  charged 
back  to  him  in  this  book,  and  a  memorandum  be  sent  him. 

Some  librarians,  as  the  bills  are  checked,  enter  a  memorandum 
in  pencil  in  each  book,  on  the  inside  margin  of  the  first  page  after 
the  title  page,  thus:  "5  N  92,  Sm  1-67,"  meaning,  "billed  Nov.  5, 
1892,  by  Smith,  at  i.oo,  33 J  off."  This  memorandum  is  fre- 
quently found  useful,  and  saves  a  hunt  through  old  bills  or  a  trip 
to  the  accessions-book. 

Having  taken  the  books  from  the  boxes,  checked  your  bills, 
and  compared  the  bill  or  books  with  your  order  list,  to  make  sure 
that  nothing  has  been  sent  which  was  not  ordered,  the  next  process 
is  to  arrange  the  books  according  to  a  rough  classification  for  en- 
tering in  the  accessions-book.  We  will  suppose  that  your  library 
is  not  to  have  more  than  5,000  volumes,  nor  less  than  1,500,  for  its 


8  /•'', •  '' ; .'«•  :          Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

start,  and  that  it  is  not  to  grow  very  fast — say,  at  the  rate  of  not 
more  than  500  volumes  per  year.  With  this  understanding,  a 
classification  under  1,000  heads  would  probably  be  enough  for  a 
long  time,  and  it  is  always  possible  to  subdivide  your  heads  and 
classify  more  closely  when  it  becomes  necessary.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary that  the  final  classifying  be  done  now,  provided  books  of  the 
same  general  character  are  grouped  together  before  entering,  and 
even  this  is  a  mere  matter  of  convenience,  to  help  in  finding  the 
record  of  any  given  book  of  the  original  stock,  when  the  book  itself 
is  not  at  hand. 

The  following  100  heads  from  the  Dewey  classification  are 
those  which  we  recommend  for  a  very  small  library : 

(Reprinted  from  the  Decimal  classification  by  permission  of  the  publishers, 
Library  Bureau,  530  Atlantic  Ave.,  Boston.) 

ooo        GENERAL  WORKS. 


oio  Bibliography. 

020  Library  economy. 

030  General  cyclopaedias. 

040  General  collections. 

050        General  periodicals. 

(Periodicals  on  a  special  subject  are  classed  with  that  subject.) 

060  General  societies. 

070  Newspapers. 

080  Special  libraries.    Polygraphy,  (i.  e.,  Collected  works.) 

090  Book  rarities. 

(Books  about  rarities,  as  well  as  books  chiefly  valuable  for  their 
rarity,  are  classed  here.) 

ioo        PHILOSOPHY. 


1 10  Metaphysics. 

1 20  Special  metaphysical  topics. 

130  Mind  and  body. 

140  Philosophical  systems. 

(Discussions  of  the  systems  as  such.    Philosophical  works  them- 
selves are  put  in  180  and  190.) 


Receiving  and  Entering  Books  9 

150  Mental  faculties. 

1 60  Logic. 

170  Ethics. 

1 80  Ancient  philosophers.  \ 

190  Modern  philosophers.  J 

(Their  collected  works  only.  Individual  works  are  put  with 
their  subjects.) 

200        RELIGION. 

210  Natural  theology. 

220  Bible. 

230  Doctrinal  theology.  Dogmatics. 

240  Devotional  and  practical. 

250  Homiletic.    Pastoral.    Parochial. 

260  Church.    Institutions.    Work. 

270  Religious  history. 

280  Christian  churches  and  sects. 

290  Non-Christian  religions. 

300        SOCIOLOGY. 
310        Statistics. 

(Statistics  too  general  to  be  included  in  any  one  topic.  Statis- 
tics of  a  special  subject  are  classed  with  that  subject.) 

320  Political  science. 

330  Political  economy. 

340  Law. 

350  Administration. 

360  Associations  and  institutions. 

370  Education. 

380  Commerce  and  communication. 

(Railroads,  etc.  Desirability  of  government  ownership,  control, 
etc.  See  also  650.) 

390         Customs.    Costumes.    Folk-lore. 

(The  heads  under  390  are  for  discussion  by  topic.  The  customs, 
etc.,  of  a  special  country  go  in  913-919.  Books  on  a  special 
topic  in  a  special  country  are  classed  here,  as  the  grouping 
by  topics  is  the  more  important.) 


io  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

400        PHILOLOGY. 

(Class  a  dictionary  of  two  languages  with  the  less  known 
language.  A  dictionary  of  several  languages  with  410,  or 
with  the  least  known  language.) 

410  Comparative. 

420  English. 

430  German. 

440  French. 

450  Italian. 

460  Spanish. 

470  Latin. 

480  Greek. 

490  Minor  languages. 

.Son        NATURAL  SCIENCE. 


510  Mathematics. 

520  Astronomy. 

530  Physics. 

540  Chemistry. 

550  Geology. 

560  Paleontology. 

570  Biology. 

(Class  here  only  those  books  which  cover  both  580  and  590.) 

580         Botany. 
590        Zoology. 

600        USEFUL  ARTS. 

610  Medicine. 

620  Engineering. 

630  Agriculture. 

640  Domestic  economy. 

650  Communication  and  commerce. 

(Railroads,  their  practical  administration,  making  up  and  dis- 
patching of  trains,  time  tables,  etc.  Steamboats. — See  also 
380.) 

660        Chemical  technology. 


Receiving  and  Entering  Books  n 

670        Manufactures. 

(General  subject  of  metal,  wood,  etc.,  manufactures,  and  such 
specific  manufactures  as  would  not  be  of  more  value  classed 
elsewhere.  An  account  of  a  specific  manufacture  Is  commonly 
more  useful  with  its  own  subject.) 

680         Mechanic  trades. 
690        Building. 

(Practical  side.     720,  artistic  side.) 

700        FINE  ARTS. 

710  Landscape  gardening. 

720  Architecture. 

730  Sculpture. 

740  Drawing.    Design.    Decoration. 

750  Painting. 

760  Engraving. 

770  Photography. 

780  Music. 

790  Amusements. 
800        LITERATURE,  including  FICTION. 


810  American. 

820  English. 

830  German. 

840  French. 

850  Italian. 

860  Spanish. 

870  Latin. 

880  Greek. 

890  Minor  languages. 

(Fiction  may  remain  undivided  by  nationality,  and  the  letter  F 
stand  for  the  class,  or  no  class  designation  at  all  be  used. 
This  would  range  all  novels  together  alphabetically  by  the 
book-number,  composed  from  the  author's  name.) 

900        HISTORY. 

(The  history  of  wars  goes  with  the  country  invaded  unless 
especially  pertaining  to  the  invading  people.) 

910        Geography  and  description. 
920         Biography. 

(Arrange  individual  biography  by  subject  of  the  life,  collective 
by  author.) 


12  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

930     Ancient  history. 


940 

950 
960 
970 
980 
990 


Modern. 


Europe. 
Asia. 
Africa. 

North  America. 
South  America. 
^  Oceanica  and  Polar  regions. 


The  1,000  heads  give  subdivisions  of  the  classes  just  enumer- 
ated :  these  are  issued  in  pamphlet  form  by  the  Library  Bureau, 
as  also  a  full  explanation  of  the  use  of  the  classification. 

We  introduce  here  also  the  main  heads  of  the  Cutter  Expansive 
Classification,  arranged  for  this  manual  by  Mr.  C.  A.  Cutter,  the 
author. 

A      GENERAL  WORKS. 
Ap         General  periodicals. 
Ar         Reference  works. 
As         General  societies. 
B       PHILOSOPHY,  including  Logic. 
Bm        Ethics. 

Br     RELIGION  and  RELIGIONS,  including  FOLK-LORE. 
Ca         Judaism. 
Cb         Bible. 
Cc          Christianity. 
Cce  Fathers. 

Ce  Evidences. 

Cf  Doctrines. 

Ck  Ethical  theology. 

Cp  Church  polity  and  ritual. 

Cx  Pastoral  theology. 

D  Church  history. 

E      BIOGRAPHY. 
F       HISTORY,  ANTIQUITIES. 
G      GEOGRAPHY,    TRAVELS,    MAPS,    MANNERS    and 

CUSTOMS. 

H      SOCIAL  SCIENCES. 
Hb        Statistics. 


Receiving  and  Entering  Books  13 

He  Economics. 

Hf  Labor. 

Hk  Commerce. 

Hm  Money  and  private  Finance. 

Ht  Taxation  and  public  Finance. 

I  Crime,  Charity,  Providence. 

Ik  Education. 

J  Government. 

K  Law. 

L  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 

Lb  Mathematics. 

Lh  Physics. 

Lo  Chemistry. 

Lr  Astronomy. 

M  Natural  history. 

Mg  Geology. 

My  Biology. 

N  Botany. 

O  Zoology. 

Pw  Anthropology,  Ethnology,  Ethnography. 

Q  MEDICINE. 

R  ARTS  (General  works,  Exhibitions,  Patents,  Metric  arts). 

Rd  Mining  and  Metallurgy. 

Rg  Agriculture. 

Rt  Chemic  and  Electric  arts.                              , 

Ry  Domestic  arts. 

S  Engineering  and  Building. 

T  Manufactures  and  Handicrafts. 

U  Military  and  Naval  arts. 

V  Athletic  and  Recreative  arts. 

Vv  MUSIC. 

W  GRAPHIC  AND  PLASTIC  ARTS. 

We  Landscape  gardening. 

Wf  Architecture. 

Wj  Sculpture. 


14  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

Wp  Painting  and  drawing. 

Wq  Engraving. 

Wr  Photography. 

Ws  Decorative  arts  (including  Costume). 

X  LANGUAGE. 

Y  LITERATURE. 

Yf  Fiction. 

Z  Book  arts. 

Zp  Libraries. 

Zt  Bibliography. 

Zy  Literary  history. 

This  can  be  shortened  by  including  Ar  in  A ;  Bm  in  B  ;  Ca  in 
Br ;  Cce,  Ce,  Cf,  Ck,  Cp,  and  Cx  in  Cc  (or  even  putting  Br,  Ca,  Cb, 
Cc  together  and  marking  them  C)  ;  Hb,  He,  Hf,  Hk,  Hm,  Ht, 
in  H ;  Lo  and  Lr  in  Lh ;  Rd,  Rg,  Rt,  Ry,  S,  T  in  R ;  We,  Wf,  Wj, 
Wp,  Wq,  Wr,  Ws  in  W ;  and  Zp,  Zt,  Zy  in  Z. 

History  and  geography  must  be  and  many  other  subjects  may 
be  divided  locally.  Of  the  505  distinct  marks  for  countries  pro- 
vided by  the  "local  list"  the  most  important  are  13  Polar  regions, 
1 6  Pacific  ocean  and  islands,  26  Atlantic  ocean  and  islands,  30 
Europe,  31  Greece  and  Rome,  36  Italy,  39  France,  45  England, 
47  Germany,  53  Northern  Europe,  60  Asia,  70  Africa,  80  America, 
83  United  States,  98  South  America,  (e.  g.,  X39  French  language, 
F47  German  history). 

When  you  shall  have  decided  to  which  of  your  classes  a  book 
belongs,  write  the  number  of  the  class  in  pencil  on  the  reverse  of 
the  title  page  just  above  the  copyright  entry.  Then  arrange 
together  all  the  books  that  belong  to  one  class. 

Then  enter  one  class  at  a  time  in  your  accessions-book,  or 
entry-ledger,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  For  1,000,  2,000  or  5,000 
volumes  you  can  get  the  condensed  Accessions-book  made  by  the 
Library  Bureau,  which  has  the  accession  numbers  stamped  in  the 
margin  and  printed  headings  for  the  columns.  This  costs  $i, 
$3,  or  $5,  according  to  the  number  of  lines,  1,000  2,000,  or 
5,000.  If  you  cannot  afford  this,  get  a  good  sized  blank  book  with 


Receiving  and  Entering  Books 


bD 


£ 

& 


Cfl 


16  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

plenty  of  vertical  rulings,  and  do  your  own  numbering  and  head- 
ing. Perhaps  you  can  draw  up  an  outline  and  some  local  manu- 
facturer can  make  a  book  for  you,  but  this  would  be  likely  to  be 
quite  as  expensive  as  the  book  from  the  Bureau.  (See  Fig.  i) 

In  order  to  make  it  still  easier  to  find  what  you  want  in  the 
accessions-book,  it  might  be  well  to  arrange  the  books  of  each 
class  alphabetically,  by  the  author's  name,  before  entering.  Enter 
the  fiction  first,  so  that  it  can  be  catalogued  and  put  into  circulation 
before  anything  else,  as  it  is  the  class  of  literature  most  in  demand. 

Give  every  volume  a  line  and  a  number  in  the  accessions-book. 
Many  libraries  do  not  do  this,  and  consider  it  a  waste  of  time 
and  paper,  but  the  extra  pains  justifies  itself  in  the  end.  As  the 
book  is  for  the  sake  of  recording  accessions,  the  numbering  must 
begin  at  I  and  run  in  regular  order.  A  glance  at  the  number  of 
the  last  entry  will  at  any  time  show  how  many  volumes  the  library 
has  received. 

When  a  book  is  entered,  it  must  receive,  on  the  first  recto 
(right  hand  page)  after  the  title-page,  written  in  ink,  the  number 
that  it  has  in  the  accessions-book.  The  accessions-book  is  of 
great  importance  aside  from  its  use  as  a  record,  as  in  case  of  fire 
it  may  enable  you  to  estimate  the  loss  and  secure  your  insurance, 
if  prices  are  carefully  recorded  in  it. 

If  you  have  an  assistant,  it  would  be  well  to  set  him  or  her  to 
cataloguing  the  books  as  fast  as  you  enter  and  classify  them,  and  if 
you  are  to  do  all  the  work  yourself,  we  should  recommend,  as 
before  stated,  the  entry  of  all  the  fiction  and  the  cataloguing  of 
that,  in  order  to  give  it  to  the  public  while  you  are  engaged  in 
entering  and  cataloguing  the  rest  of  the  books.  Biography  and 
history  being  the  classes  next  in  demand  in  most  libraries,  enter 
and  catalogue  those  next,  then  literature  in  general,  then  travels, 
etc. 

The  public  generally  grow  very  impatient  to  get  into  a  new 
library,  and  think  it  takes  a  long  time  to  get  it  ready ;  so  it  is  as 
well  to  have  an  occasional  sop  for  Cerberus,  administered  as  rec- 
ommended above. 


CHAPTER   II 

BOOK-NUMBERS   AND   CATALOGUING 

IT  is  evident  that  the  class-number  alone  does  not  make  a  suffi- 
cient call-number — there  must  be  something  to  distinguish 
each  book  from  all  others  in  the  same  class,  and  for  this 
reason  we  have  the  book-number.    This,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  class,  should  identify  the  book  thoroughly,  as  the  full  name 
does  a  person. 

A  book-number  may  be  made  to  indicate  various  things,  as 
well  as  to  identify  a  certain  book.  It  may  show  how  many  books 
the  library  has  of  its  class,  as  would  be  the  case  if  all  books  under 
each  class  were  assigned  a  strict  numerical  arrangement — e.  g., 
942-1  would  be  the  first  book  in  that  class,  942-2,  the  second,  and 
so  on.  It  may  show  how  many  books  there  are  in  a  class  whose 
author's  name  begins  with  a  certain  letter,  e.  g.,  942-Gi  would  be 
the  first  book  in  the  class  whose  author's  name  begins  with  G,  and 
942-G2  would  be  the  second.  It  may  show  the  date  of  publication, 
as  by  the  scheme  of  time-numbers  invented  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Biscoe 
of  the  New  York  State  Library;  and  it  may  show  how  many 
books  the  library  has  in  any  one  class  by  a  given  author.  This  last 
is  the  best  arrangement,  as  it  keeps  together  on  the  shelves 
an  author's  books  in  any  one  line  of  writing,  which  none  of 
the  others  do,  beyond  a  certain  point.  For  this  reason  the 
Cutter  book-numbers  are  recommended,  the  table  of  which  may 
be  had  from  the  Library  Bureau  or  by  applying  to  the  Forbes 
Library,  Northampton,  Mass.  Explanations  are  supplied  with 
the  tables,  and  a  little  study  should  make  the  system  easy  to  use.  A 
modification  of  these,  called  the  Cutter-Sanborn  tables,  is  sold  by 
the  Library  Bureau  and  is  used  by  many  libraries.  For  a  large 
or  fast-growing  library  this  style  of  book-numbering  is  decidedly 
the  best,  especially  for  fiction  and  biography,  as  it  is  very  desirable 
to  have  all  of  an  author's  novels  together  and  all  the  biographies 
of  a  person  in  one  place.  In  the  case  of  biography,  the  number 


18  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

would  be  assigned  from  the  name  of  the  subject,  of  course,  rather 
than  that  of  the  author. 

Each  book  should  receive  its  book-number  on  the  reverse  of 
the  title-page  under  the  class-number.  It  has  then  been  christened 
and  is  ready  to  be  described,  or  catalogued — for  cataloguing  is 
only  a  description,  more  or  less  detailed,  by  which  the  borrower 
may  satisfy  himself  whether  the  book  is  the  one  he  wants. 

Persons  taking  books  from  a  library  usually  wish  to  know 
one  of  three  things ;  i.  e.,  Has  the  library  a  book  by  a  given  title  ? 
What  books  has  it  by  a  given  author  ?  How  many  and  what  books 
has  it  on  a  given  subject?  And  it  is  the  duty  of  the  smallest  li- 
brary to  furnish  answers  to  these  questions  by  means  of  some  kind 
of  catalogue. 

Almost  the  first  thing  that  a  small  library  does  is  to  print  a 
catalogue.  Usually  the  local  printer  does  the  work,  and  owing 
to  the  necessity  for  economy  on  the  part  of  the  library,  and  the 
small  outfit  of  the  printing-office,  the  outcome  is  not  a  thing  of 
beauty — poor  cataloguing,  poor  paper,  and  poor  type,  make  a 
wretched  combination;  and  before  the  book  is  fairly  out  there 
are  volumes  enough  added  to  the  library  to  form  a  brief  supple- 
ment. Books  continue  to  be  added,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
catalogue  utterly  misrepresents  the  library's  resources.  The 
librarian  is  persuaded  to  print  a  supplement.  If  he  has  money 
enough,  and  if  there  are  enough  additions  to  warrant  it,  he  may 
do  so.  People  then  either  drop  the  original  catalogue  and  depend 
upon  one  supplement  until  another  comes  out,  or  for  every  book 
they  want  they  must  look  through  both  lists.  The  more  supple- 
ments there  are  added,  the  more  there  are  to  consult  in  a  search 
for  a  given  work.  In  no  one  place  are  the  whole  contents  of  the 
library  catalogued,  and  between  the  issues  of  supplements  there 
is  nothing  to  show  properly  the  additions  from  month  to  month. 

There  is  this  in  favor  of  even  a  small  printed  catalogue  or 
finding-list — it  may  be  consulted  at  home  for  the  making  out  of 
lists  of  call-numbers  to  be  sent  in  by  a  messenger ;  and  this  is  its 
only  recommendation.  Where  the  borrowers  live  at  long  dis- 


Book-Numbers  and  Cataloguing  19 

tances  from  the  library,  this  is  a  matter  for  serious  consideration, 
however. 

The  card-catalogue,  on  the  contrary,  must  be  consulted  at  the 
library,  but  it  can  be  kept  up  to  date,  even  to  the  day,  and  it  can 
be  arranged  in  one  alphabetical  series,  so  that  there  is  but  one 
place  in  which  to  look  for  a  book. 

A  small  library  which  must  consider  expense  may  use  the 


_Q 


Fig.  2.* 

index  size  of  card  (See  Fig.  2),  which  is  5  x  2  inches,  instead  of 
the  postal  size,  on  which  there  would  often  be  waste  space,  espe- 
cially if  a  finding-list  were  projected  rather  than  a  catalogue.  The 
thickness  of  the  card  becomes  a  matter  for  thought,  since  if  too 
thick  it  takes  too  much  space  in  the  catalogue-drawer  and  fills  it 
sooner  than  necessary ;  and  if  too  thin  it  is  likely  to  tear  and  diffi- 
cult to  turn  with  the  fingers.  Of  these  evils,  the  too  thick  card  is 
to  be  preferred,  but  a  good  medium  weight  is  the  No.  33012  of  the 
Library  Bureau.  These  cards  are  sold  at  $2  per  thousand.  In 
case  the  library  cannot  afford  the  ready-made  card,  or  one  made 
to  order  by  a  stationer,  small  pads  of  thick  paper  near  the  required 
size  could  be  used,  not  more  than  one  entry  being  placed  on  each 
leaf.  Light-colored  manilla  pads  of  heavy  weight  would  not  be 


*  Owing  to  lack  of  space  on  the  page,  this  cut  is  shorter  than  the  card  by  one 
inch,  but  is  given,  nevertheless,  to  show  the  rulings  and  perforation. 


20  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

bad.  These  small  pads  are  sold  by  most  stationers,  and  are  very 
cheap.  The  ruling  of  the  ready-made  card  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

To  estimate  the  number  of  cards  needed  to  catalogue  a  given 
number  of  books,  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  each  work  (not 
each  volume)  will  need  two  cards,  an  author  and  subject;  or,  if 
fiction,  an  author  and  a  title  card.  There  will  occasionally  be  more 
cards  to  a  work,  and  on  the  other  hand  several  volumes,  copies  or 
editions  of  one  work,  can  go  on  the  same  card ;  an  allowance  of 
three  cards  to  a  work  would  give  the  cataloguer  greater  liberty 
and  make  the  catalogue  more  useful. 

The  perforation  in  the  card  in  Fig.  2  is  for  the  purpose  of 
stringing  the  cards  on  a  rod  which  passes  through  the  catalogue- 
drawer,  fastening  at  the  front.  If  they  were  not  held  by  some 
such  arrangement,  they  would  often  be  taken  out  and  lost  or  de- 
stroyed, or  put  back  in  the  wrong  place. 

The  drawer  or  box  for  the  card  should  be  just  as  wide  as  the 
cards  are  long,  giving  only  room  enough  for  them  to  move  back 
and  forward  as  they  are  handled.  A  block  shaped  thus /  /[ 

should  be  placed  before  and  behind  the  cards  to  keep  them  upright. 
Great  depth  of  drawer  is  to  be  avoided,  as  the  cards  should  have 
all  the  light  possible ;  they  should  be  almost  flush  with  the  top  of 
the  drawer. 

A  long  drawer  is  also  disadvantageous.  It  is  better  to  have 
two  shorter  ones,  as  more  persons  can  then  consult  the  cards  at 
one  time ;  and  for  the  same  reason  it  would  be  better  to  have  the 
drawers  side  by  side,  rather  than  one  above  the  other. 

In  a  clean  village  or  small  town,  where  no  all-pervading  soot 
has  to  be  guarded  against,  it  would  be  possible  to  have  wooden 
boxes  instead  of  drawers  for  the  catalogue,  with  lids  to  be  put  on 
only  at  night  or  when  the  library  is  closed.  There  would  then  be 
no  need  of  a  heavy,  immovable  case  of  drawers ;  the  boxes  could 
be  carried  to  the  window  or  to  the  gas  for  light,  and  consulted  at 
the  desk  or  table,  or  wherever  it  might  be  most  convenient. 

Starting  then  with  the  box,  rod,  and  cards,  we  are  ready  to 
make  our  catalogue,  and  are  confronted  at  the  outset  by  the  ques- 
tion, What  kind  of  catalogue  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 
CATALOGUING 

THE  most  elaborate  cataloguing  gives  many  facts  that  it  is 
undesirable  to  insist  upon  in  the  catalogue  of  a  small 
library;    partly  because  the  kinds  of  books  in  a  small 
library  do  not  require  it  and  are  not  worth  it;    partly  because 
elaborate  cataloguing  takes  time  and  training,  and  these  demand 
money;   and  partly  because  the  simpler  the  catalogue,  the  better 
the  average  public  likes  it. 

For  these  reasons,  it  is  recommended  that  the  small  library 
make  a  finding-list  rather  than  a  catalogue,  confining  itself  to  only 
the  most  necessary  facts. 

It  is  possible  to  catalogue  a  book  in  either  of  the  following 
ways : 


Du  Maurier,  George. 


D  ii6if 


Peter  Ibbetson,  with  an  introd.  by  his  cousin, 
Lady  "  Madge  Plunket.".  ..7+418  p.  il.  O.  N.  Y., 
Harper,  1892. 


Fig.  4. 


*  Abbreviation  for  class-number  823,  English  fiction, 
f  Book-number  for  Du  Maurier. 


22 


Hints  to  Small  Libraries 


Du  Maurier,  George. 


D  1161 


Peter  Ibbetson. 


Fig.  5- 

Ten  to  one,  the  latter  card  will  give  all  that  most  people  care 
to  know. 

If  the  accessions-number  be  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  card  or 
on  the  back,  the  librarian  can  easily  refer  to  the  accessions-book 
for  any  further  facts  he  may  wish  to  learn  in  regard  to  the  book. 

Take  another  instance,  not  in  fiction. 


921* 


Amiel,  Henri-Frederic. 


Am  5  A 


Amiel's  Journal :  The  Journal  intime,  tr.  with 
an  introd.  and  notes  by  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward. 
43+3 1 8  p.  por.  O.  Lond.,  Macmillan,  i8go. 


Fig.  6. 


*  Class-number  for  biography  of  philosophy. 


Cataloguing 

The  finding  list  could  shorten  this  to 


921 

Amiel,  H.  P. 

Am  5  A 

Journal  intime,  tr.  by  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward. 
Lond.,  1890. 

Fig.  7- 
or  even 

921 

Amiel. 

Am  5  A 

Journal  intime,  tr.  by  Ward.     1890. 

Fig.  8. 
The  following  is  the  biographical  subject-card  : 

928* 

Keats,  John.f                                           Life,  by 

K22 

Rossetti,  W.  M.     Lond.,  1887. 

Fig.  9. 

*  Class-number  for  literary  biography. 
t  In  red  ink. 


24  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

Author  card  for  same. 


928 


Rossetti,  W.  fl. 


K22 


Life  of  John  Keats.     Lond.,  1887. 


Fig.  IO. 


The  following  is  the  ordinary  subject-card: 


636* 


Cats.f 


88 


Weir,  Harrison.     Our  cats,  and  all  about  them. 
Bost.,  1889. 


Fig.  II. 

Neither  paging  nor  size  of  volume  need  be  given  by  the  small 
library,  unless  the  dimensions  are  such  as  to  make  the  book  dis- 
appointing by  reason  of  smallness,  or  troublesome  by  reason  of 
weight.  A  rule  might  be  made  to  give  no  paging  unless  the 
book  has  fewer  than  100  pages,  or  more  than  500,  and  to  mention 
the  size  only  when  the  book  is  over  octavo  size  or  under  sixteenmo. 

The  mention  of  illustrations  may  always  be  dispensed  with  in 
the  case  of  a  novel,  unless  they  are  a  special  feature  of  the  book, 
being  by  some  celebrated  illustrator.  As  for  the  portrait  of  Amiel, 


*  Class-number  for  domestic  animals, 
t  In  red  ink. 


Cataloguing  25 

for  instance,  there  is  no  need  to  mention  it  in  this  case,  as  we 
expect  to  find  a  man's  portrait  in  his  biography  or  his  journal, 
if  we  are  to  find  it  anywhere,  and  if  we  were  looking  for  it 
that  would  be  our  first  place  of  search.  There  is  no  need  of  the 
publisher,  and  small  use  for  the  place,  in  an  ordinary  finding- 
list.  The  year  and  the  number  of  the  edition  are  desirable  in  all 
cases  except  in  fiction.  If  a  work  is  in  more  than  one  volume, 
the  fact  should  be  stated,  as  it  often  decides  the  choice  of  a 
book.  Contents  should  be  given,  in  the  case  of  collections 
of  essays,  short  stories,  dramas,  etc.,  even  though  each  one 
may  have  its  entry  under  its  title  on  a  separate  card. 

Certain  tools  are  necessary  for  cataloguing,  even  of  the 
simple  kind  described,  and  bibliographical  tools  are  expensive. 
The  small  library,  or  one  forced  to  the  practice  of  strict  econ- 
omy, would  do  well,  therefore,  to  obtain  the  printed  catalogue 
of  some  larger  library  as  a  guide.  Sometimes  these  may  be 
had  for  the  asking,  sometimes  they  are  sold,  but  in  any  case 
they  are  cheaper,  and  answer  a  greater  variety  of  questions, 
than  most  of  the  bibliographical  publications  which  served  to 
guide  their  compilers.  The  A.  L.  A.  Catalog,  published  in 
1904  by  the  Library  of  Congress,  with  the  A.  L.  A.  Booklist 
bringing  the  list  of  books  down  to  date,  is  the  latest  good  au- 
thority. The  former  gives  the  books  in  both  dictionary  and 
classified  order,  and  supplies  subject-headings. 

The  subject  of  the  arrangement  of  catalogues,  both  card 
and  printed,  has  been  a  matter  of  much  discussion  and  differ- 
ence of  opinion.  In  the  dictionary  catalogues,  authors,  titles 
and  subjects  are  placed  in  one  alphabetical  series,  e.  g.: 

(Author)  Decatur,  Stephen. 

(Subject)  December. 

(Title  and  subject)  Decimal  system  in  numbers. 

(Author)  Decker,  Thomas. 

(  Title  and  subject)  Declaration  of  independence. 

The  advantage  of  this  arrangement  is  that  a  person  coming 
in  with  one  thought,  that  he  wants  a  book  or  several  books  on  cats, 


26  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

has  only  to  look  under  the  word  cats  to  find  a  certain  quantity  of 
material,  either  books  or  parts  of  books,  on  the  subject. 

The  classed  catalogue,  in  which  the  cards  are  arranged  under 
broad  classes,  with  sub-classes,  sections,  etc.,  has  this  advantage, 
that  when  one's  subject  is  found  it  is  found  surrounded  by  kin- 
dred topics;  but,  in  order  to  be  easily  available,  the  catalogue 
must  have  an  alphabetical  index  of  specific  subjects.  The  consulta- 
tion of  this,  in  order  to  find  where  one's  subject  has  been  placed  in 
the  classed  catalogue,  makes  an  extra  process  with  which  most 
borrowers  would  grow  impatient. 

Therefore,  simply  for  practical  every-day  usefulness,  and  as  a 
matter  of  satisfaction  to  its  constituency,  the  specific  headings  are 
to  be  recommended  to  the  ordinary  public  library.  The  time  of 
assistants  in  making  explanations  will  be  saved,  as  well  as  con- 
siderable energy  in  the  form  of  temper,  on  the  part  of  the  public. 
Another  consideration  influencing  this  decision  will  be  given  in 
the  next  chapter. 

A  compromise  between  the  dictionary  and  classed  catalogue 
may  be  suggested,  which  will  enable  the  borrower  to  find  his  book 
on  cats  under  the  word  cats,  but  will  put  all  subjects  apart  from 
the  authors  and  titles,  in  a  separate  box  or  drawer.  Authors  and 
titles  may  also  be  separated,  since,  if  the  drawers  are  labelled 
"Authors,"  "Titles,"  "Subjects,"  it  makes  the  catalogue  appear 
much  simpler. 

Biographies  need  two  entries  always,  one  under  the  author, 
which  would  go  in  the  author-drawer,  and  one  under  the  subject 
of  the  biography,  which  would  go  in  the  subject-drawer. 

The  advantage  of  this  system  of  separate  catalogues  will  be 
more  and  more  appreciated  with  use. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  SHELF-LIST  AND  INVENTORY 

IT  is  a  very  shiftless  business  man  who  goes  on  from  year  to 
year  without  ever  taking  account  of  stock  and  finding  just 
what  he  has  on  hand ;  and  if  a  library  is  to  be  conducted  on 
business  principles,  it  should  take  an  inventory  of  its  books  once 
a  year  if  practicable. 

We  will  suppose  that  your  books  stand  on  your  shelves  in 
classified  order,  beginning  at  I  and  running  to  999  in  regular 
numerical  arrangement,  first  by  class  and  then  by  book-number, 
unless  you  have  taken  fiction,  for  instance,  out  of  the  regular 
order,  in  order  to  place  it  nearer  the  loan  desk  for  convenience 
sake.  And  here  be  warned  not  to  let  theory  or  an  extreme  love 
of  system  interfere  with  practical  convenience. 

The  usual  method  of  conducting  an  inventory  being  to  read 
from  the  inventory-book,  or  shelf-list,  to  the  shelves,  this  list  must 
be  arranged  in  the  same  order  as  the  books  on  the  shelves,  i.  e., 
all  of  a  class  together,  the  arrangement  under  the  class  being  by 
the  order  of  the  book-numbers.  This  list  is  useful,  not  alone  for 
inventory  purposes  but  also  as  a  classed  catalogue,  to  show  at  any 
time  all  that  the  library  has  in  any  class  or  sub-class ;  and  having 
this  in  numerical  or  class  arrangement,  the  small  library  that 
should  make,  in  addition,  a  classed  catalogue,  would  be  duplicat- 
ing work.  It  is  true  that  this  is  an  official  record,  not  for  public 
use ;  still,  if  an  emergency  should  occur  to  which  the  alphabetical 
subject  catalogue  was  inadequate,  it  would  be  a  very  narrow- 
minded  library  that  would  not  allow  the  use  of  its  shelf-list. 

Many  librarians  keep  their  shelf-lists  on  sheets  laced  together, 
to  admit  of  slipping  new  sheets  into  their  proper  numerical  place 
as  new  books  and  new  classes  are  introduced ;  others  keep  their 
shelf-lists  on  cards,  entering  one  work  to  a  card. 

The  card  arrangement  is  growing  more  popular,  as  it  never 


28 


Hints  to  Small  Libraries 


requires  rewriting,  while  the  shelf-list  on  sheets  is  certain  to  fill  up 
in  time,  and  then  when  additional  books  come  in  it  must  be  re- 
written, unless  a  whole  leaf  is  allotted  to  one  class,  which  would 
be  rather  expensive  for  a  small  library.  It  is  very  hard,  too,  to 
keep  shelf-list  sheets  from  tearing  and  slipping  out  of  the  covers. 

We  will  suppose  that  you  have  chosen  the  cards,  or  stiff  slips, 
for  your  shelf-list,  intending  to  keep  them  in  a  box  or  drawer  as 
you  do  your  catalogue  cards.  As  it  is  to  be  mainly  an  official 
record  and  will  not  be  so  much  handled,  you  will  not  need  so 
strong  a  card.  It  is  advisable,  however,  to  have  the  cards  fastened 
in,  as  it  would  be  a  serious  matter  to  lose  an  entry  from  your 
inventory. 

The  chief  difference  between  these  cards  and  those  of  your 
catalogue  will  be  that  these  are  briefer,  giving  only  the  surname 
of  the  author,  a  very  brief  title,  and  no  imprint.  The  call-number, 
accession-number,  and  number  of  volumes,  must  be  given.  An 
example  is  given  of  a  book  of  which  the  library  has  more  than  one 
copy: 


Call-Number. 

Ace.  No. 

No.  Vol. 

Author. 

Title. 

320-73 

976 

Bryce 

Amer.  Commonwealth. 

320-73 

4001 

COp.  2. 

Fig.  12. 


These  cards  are  arranged  in  the  drawer  or  box  by  the  call-num- 
bers in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  the  cards,  and  you  can  easily 
see  that  all  the  3205,  for  instance,  will  thus  be  together,  arranged 
by  their  book-numbers;  and  as  320  represents  Political  Science 
and  all  your  books  in  that  class  stand  together  on  the  shelves,  the 


The  Shelf-List  and  Inventory  29 

shelf-list  is  shown  to  be,  as  we  first  described  it,  a  classed  cata- 
logue and  an  inventory-book  combined.  If  you  are  obliged  to 
choose  between  a  subject  catalogue  with  written  headings  on  the 
one  hand,  and  a  shelf-list  on  the  other,  choose  the  latter,  with  a 
subject-index,  because  of  its  answering  two  purposes ;  but  if  you 
can  have  both  a  shelf-list  and  a  subject  catalogue,  let  the  latter 
have  subject  headings  and  keep  the  cards  in  alphabetical  order  by 
these  headings,  rather  than  in  numerical  order. 

The  making  of  the  shelf-list  need  never  keep  the  books  wait- 
ing, for  the  call-number  and  title  may  be  hastily  written  in  in  pencil 
and  verified  later  from  the  catalogue  cards,  after  the  books  have 
gone  on  to  the  shelves.  This  should  be  done  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, so  that  your  shelf-list  may  always  be  referred  to  for  the 
latest  book  in  a  class. 

When  it  comes  to  taking  an  inventory,  choose  the  time  of 
year  when  the  library's  circulation  is  lowest,  so  that  more  of  your 
books  will  be  in  and  their  condition  may  be  noted,  and  also  because 
it  is  your  least  busy  time. 

If  you  have  any  one  to  help  you,  let  that  person  find  the  book 
on  the  shelves  as  you  call  it  off  from  the  shelf-list.  When  you 
have  gone  over  your  shelves  and  have  taken  a  list  of  the  books  not 
in  place,  look  for  them  in  your  charging-system  (which  will  be 
explained  later),  to  see  if  they  are  out.  If  they  are  charged  to 
some  one,  they  are  accounted  for  and  can  be  checked  off  the  list. 
Not  finding  a  book  in  circulation,  see  next  if  it  is  charged  to  the 
binder,  if  it  is  on  your  mending-table,  or  anywhere  in  your  work- 
room or  work-corner.  Then  come  back  to  the  shelves  again,  and 
see  if  it  has  not  turned  up  in  its  place.  When  all  possible  places 
have  been  searched  in  vain,  put  it  on  your  list  of  "Books  unac- 
counted for."  Often  books  will  come  to  light  after  a  disappear- 
ance of  months  or  years,  and  this  list  need  never  be  accepted  as 
final. 


CHAPTER  V 

MECHANICAL    PREPARATION    OF    BOOKS   FOR   THE    SHELVES: — 

BINDING 

THE  classification  and  cataloguing  of  a  book  are  a  part  of  its 
preparation  for  the  shelves,  but  there  is  more  to  be  done. 
If  a  library  can  afford  it,  a  tasteful  plate  is  an  addition 
to  the  good  appearance  of  its  books  and  helps  to  identify  them  if 
lost  or  mislaid,  and  this  should  show  both  call-number  and  acces- 
sion-number; but  the  library  in  straitened  circumstances  can  not 
afford  items  which  are  not  necessary  to  the  progress  of  its  work, 
and  will  compromise  with  necessity  by  causing  to  be  made  a  rubber 
stamp,  with  which  the  statement  of  the  library's  ownership  can  be 
stamped  upon  the  reverse  of  the  title-page,  on  the  last  page  if  there 
is  blank  space  there,  and  on  various  blank  spaces  throughout 
the  book. 

The  pocket,  if  one  is  to  be  used  in  the  charging-system,  should 
be  of  linen  or  manilla  paper,  folded  and  pasted  on  the  inside  of  the 
back  cover,  open  end  up,  with  the  call-number  printed  on  it  by 
hand;  the  dating-slip  tipped  in  opposite  it;  the  call-number 
printed  by  hand  or  stamped  on  the  back  of  the  title-page,  where 
the  classifier  has  written  it  in  pencil.  Then  comes  the  question 
of  labels  and  covering. 

A  great  many  libraries  cover  their  books  in  order  to  preserve 
the  clean  new  look  of  the  original  cover;  but  why  preserve  this 
when  no  one  can  see  it?  If  the  dirt  that  would  collect  on  a  dark 
book  collects  on  a  light  paper  cover,  it  is  more  of  an  offense  than 
if  it  were  not  brought  into  so  strong  a  contrast.  And  say  what 
you  will,  the  re-covering,  which  takes  a  great  deal  of  time,  will  not 
always  be  done  when  it  should  be. 


Mechanical  Preparation  of  Books  31 

Then,  when  the  inside  of  the  book  is  worn  out,  there  is  your 
clean,  fresh-looking  book-back  to  throw  away,  whereas  without 
covering,  all  would  have  shared  wear  and  tear  alike,  and  the  work 
of  covering  and  re-covering  would  have  been  saved. 

Further  than  this,  book-covers  have  individuality,  and  often 
help  to  select  books.  Assistants  learn  to  know  the  appearance  of 
a  book  and  can  point  it  out  across  the  room,  or  make  a  dart  at 
it  out  of  a  whole  case,  when  seeking  it  in  a  hurry.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  warn  the  busy  librarian  against  covering  books — he 
or  she  knows  too  well  the  value  of  time  and  the  short  life-tenure 
of  press-work  bindings ;  it  is  usually  the  library  board  which  has 
to  be  persuaded  against  entering  upon  so  troublesome  a  path.  A 
more  sensible  proceeding  would  be  to  cover  the  books  when  they 
have  become  soiled  and  unsightly,  if  they  cannot  be  at  once  re- 
placed by  new  copies. 

Labels  for  the  backs  can  be  bought,  with  the  class-number 
ready  printed,  from  P.  Van  Everen  &  Co.,  leaving  only  the  book- 
number  to  be  put  on ;  but  the  work  of  numbering  is  such  a  trifle 
that  it  is  better  to  save  the  money  than  the  time,  provided  your 
own  printing  is  heavy  and  you  make  large  figures.  Do  not  get 
ready-gummed  labels;  they  are  likely  to  peel  off,  as  the  gum 
makes  the  label  curl  and  stiffens  it  in  that  shape.  When  your 
book  is  stamped,  provided  with  label,  dating-slip,  and  pocket  with 
book-card  (explained  later)  in  it,  it  is  ready  for  the  shelves.  If 
it  is  a  new  book  (not  a  new  copy  of  an  old  book),  place  it  where 
its  title  can  be  seen  by  the  people  who  come  in;  a  row  of  new 
books  placed  where  the  titles  can  be  read  often  gives  help  to  per- 
sons who  do  not  know  just  what  they  want. 

Most  small  libraries  are  safe  in  letting  new  books  go  into  the 
hands  of  borrowers  for  examination;  and  indeed  many  large 
libraries  do  this.  It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  large  libraries 
should  have  space  railed  off  in  the  loan-room  for  examination  of 
books  by  the  public,  as  is  frequently  done  in  book-stores. 

Of  late  years,  many  libraries  have  thrown  open  their 
shelves,  or  a  part  of  them,  so  that  persons  wishing  to  borrow 


Hints  to  Small  Libraries 


books  may  examine  anything-  in  the  library,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions. This  change  in  attitude  toward  the  public  has  been 
warmly  welcomed  as  the  removal  of  one  more  barrier  between 
books  and  people.  In  order  to  make  a  judicious  selection  for 
the  open  shelves,  the  librarian  should  know  the  contents  of 
the  books  and  be  sure  that  only  books  suitable  to  anyone, 
young  or  old,  are  thus  offered  for  examination. 

When  a  book  comes  in  that  needs  mending,  it  should  be  laid 
aside  in  the  book-hospital  until  the  librarian  or  assistant  can 
attend  to  it.  If  pages  are  torn,  use  paste  and  tissue  paper  to  mend 
them,  as  binders  do ;  and  if  they  are  torn  out  or  loose,  tip  them  in 
with  paste.  Do  not  use  mucilage  for  mending,  as  it  hardens  and 
cracks,  and  makes  it  next  to  impossible  to  rebind  the  books  when 
necessary.  Strips  of  book-muslin  or  strong  cheese-cloth  can  be 
pasted  across  loose  backs,  and  a  hinge  made  of  dark  lining  cambric 
or  some  similar  fabric,  can  be  used  to  fasten  on  a  lid  that  has 
broken  away  from  the  book.  The  Multum  in  parvo  binding,  No. 
3,  supplied  in  strips,  furnishes  a  good  hinge  also,  for  broken  lids, 
but  is  rather  expensive. 

Much  mending  can  be  done  in  the  library,  but  the  time  comes 
when  books  require  professional  attendance  and  must  go  to  the 
binder.  Take  out  the  book-cards  and  charge  them  to  the  binder 
(i.  e.,  fasten  them  together,  mark  with  binder's  name  and  the  date 
of  sending,  and  place  the  package  in  your  charging-tray). 

Have  a  small  blank-book,  in  which  you  make  record,  before 
the  books  go,  as  follows : 


Binder's 
No. 

Accession 
No. 

Author 

Title 

Vol. 
No. 

Cost 

Remarks 

I 

1002 

Everett 

Orations 

I 

i  morocco 

2 

275 

Longfellow 

Poems 

k        " 

3 

901 

Smith 

Wealth  of  nations 

Same  cover 

4 

108 

Stowe 

Uncle  Tom's  cabin 

£  roan 

5 

467 

Wallace 

Ben  Hur 

I  roan 

Fig.  13. 


Mechanical  Preparation  of  Books  33 

Let  the  lettering  be  exactly  what  you  wish  put  on  the  book. 
For  economy's  sake,  as  a  binder's  charge  is  generally  by  the  line, 
have  lettered  on  the  book  only  the  author's  surname  and  a  brief 
title,  leaving  the  call-number  and  volume-number  to  be  put  on  by 
label  when  the  book  comes  back.  The  accession-number  it  is 
necessary  to  set  down  in  your  blank-book  for  identification  of 
different  copies  or  editions.  Arrange  your  entries  alphabetically 
by  authors'  names.  Put  into  each  volume  before  it  goes  a  slip 
showing  the  lettering  you  desire  and  giving  directions,  and  re- 
quire this  slip  to  be  returned  with  the  book.  A  narrow  slip  of 
any  kind  of  paper  pencilled  thus : 


2  mor. 

Longfellow. 

Poems. 
Fig.  14. 


is  all  that  is  necessary.  When  the  books  are  returned  by  the 
binder,  first  arrange  them  by  authors,  see  that  the  lettering  of 
each  corresponds  with  the  slip,  then  check  them  off  on  your  book 
as  returned.  Put  on  the  labels,  put  in  pocket,  dating-slip,  etc.,  re- 
insert book-card,  and  the  book  is  ready  for  the  shelves  again. 

For  the  sake  of  statistics  it  is  well  to  give  each  book  as  it  goes 
out  a  binder's  number.  Beginning  at  I  with  the  first  book  sent 
after  the  beginning  of  the  library-year,  number  your  binder's  blank 
consecutively  down  the  page.  In  the  first  book,  before  it  goes 
to  the  binder,  place  the  number  i  in  pencil  on  the  first  recto 
(right-hand  page)  after  the  title-page,  in  an  inconspicuous  place, 
the  number  2  in  the  next  book,  and  so  on.  By  this  means  you  can 
refer  at  any  time  during  the  year  from  a  book  to  its  entry  in  the 
binder's  book,  and  see  when  it  was  bound  and  how  much  the  bind- 
ing cost. 


34  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

Make  an  agreement  with  your  binder  to  charge  a  regular  price 
for  books  of  a  given  size,  the  size  being  estimated  by  inches.  Get 
an  ordinary  wooden  ruler,  and  cover  one  side  with  white  paper. 
On  this,  mark  off  with  ink  the  usual  sizes  of  books,  with  prices 
agreed  upon  for  each  size.  Measure  your  books  when  returned, 
and  see  if  the  price  on  the  binder's  bill  agrees  with  that  required 
by  your  ruler.  Transfer  prices,  if  correct,  to  your  book,  keep  the 
columns  of  figures  footed,  and  at  any  time  during  the  year  you 
can  say  just  how  many  books  you  have  bound  and  how  much 
your  binding  has  cost. 

Do  not  let  the  binder  lump  the  books  in  his  bill.  Require  each 
book  to  be  priced  separately.  If  the  library  could  afford  a  copy- 
press,  the  routine  and  tools  advised  would  be  somewhat  different 
from  this,  but  very  few  small  libraries  would  feel  a  press  to  be 
necessary. 

In  the  case  of  periodicals,  keep  the  back  numbers  of  each 
together,  so  that  no  time  need  be  lost  in  collecting  them  for  binding 
when  the  time  comes.  Look  for  the  title-page  and  put  it  on  the 
top  of  the  volume,  placing  the  index  at  the  front  or  back,  as  the 
paging  may  require.  Let  the  binder  tear  out  advertising  pages, 
but  have  the  front  covers,  at  least,  bound  'in,  if  in  good  condition, 
in  the  place  where  they  occur.  They  are  sometimes  a  great  help 
afterward,  in  consulting  the  bound  volume. 

Have  it  understood  with  your  binder  that  his  bill  for  any  one 
lot  will  be  paid  when  the  entire  lot  has  been  returned. 

Pamphlets  with  stiff  paper  covers  are  often  received  as  gifts, 
and  many  libraries  buy  paper-covered  novels.  Where  economy 
is  an  object,  these  covers  can  often  be  strengthened  by  an  extra 
one  of  rope-manilla  paper,  and  may  then  last  a  long  time. 


CHAPTER  VI 
RELATIONS  WITH  THE  PUBLIC  : — REGISTRATION 

THE  library  in  the  small  town  has  an  advantage  over  the  one 
in  the  large  town,  in  that  the  librarian  can  generally  know 
of  his  own  knowledge  the  character  and  standing  of  the 
persons  who  apply  for  books.  If  an  applicant  is  notoriously  slow 
in  paying  his  debts  or  given  to  evading  financial  responsibilities, 
the  librarian  is  likely  to  know  of  it,  and  can,  if  backed  by  his 
trustees  or  his  board,  decline  to  lend  books  to  so  suspicious  a 
character.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  applicant  has  a  good  repu- 
tation, the  librarian  is  likely  to  know  that,  too,  and  can  proceed 
accordingly.  It  would  be  a  pity  therefore  for  any  small  library  to 
saddle  itself  with  the  guaranty  system,  which  means  double  work, 
two  people  to  be  dunned  instead  of  one,  each  blaming  the  other  in 
case  of  fines  or  loss  of  books  and  sending  the  poor  collector  back 
and  forth  like  a  shuttlecock. 

The  man  who  is  honest  and  willing  to  bear  the  consequences 
of  his  remissness  does  not  need  a  guarantor ;  the  man  who  is  dis- 
posed to  shirk  consequences  has  it  made  easy  for  him  by  the  pro- 
vision of  security,  and  often  the  guarantor  is  no  more  responsible 
than  the  applicant.  The  principle  is  a  wrong  one  and  its  appli- 
cation is  disagreeable  from  every  point  of  view. 

The  fact  that  the  librarian  can  know  the  people  of  his  village 
or  town  makes  it  unnecessary  to  require  the  usual  delay  in  grant- 
ing cards,  which  is  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  looking  up  the 
standing  of  applicants.  He  is  generally  safe  in  receiving  an  appli- 
cation, registering  the  applicant,  and  giving  him  a  card  and  a  book, 
all  at  one  interview;  and  nothing  is  more  desirable  than  to  dis- 
pense with  the  long  waits  which  are  so  vexatious  to  the  public, 
because  they  can  see  no  reason  for  them. 


36  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

The  small  library  may  make  the  signing  of  its  register  a  pledge 
by  having  printed  at  the  top  of  each  page  a  promise  to  "obey  the 
rules  of  the  library  and  make  good  any  loss  or  damage  incurred 
through  me."  Each  applicant  who  writes  his  name  below  has 
thus  given  his  pledge.  His  address  should  be  given  as  well,  if  the 
town  has  numbered  and  named  streets.  This  makes  unnecessary 
the  keeping  of  a  file  of  written  applications.  The  lines  of  the 
register  should  be  numbered  consecutively,  beginning  at  one,  each 
number  representing  a  borrower.  This  will  show  the  number  of 
persons  using  the  library  since  the  beginning. 

The  date  should  be  written  in  each  morning  before  the  day's 
work  begins.  Each  person's  number  should  be  placed  on  his 
card  before  that  is  given  to  him,  and  his  privileges  should  begin 
from  the  date  of  his  registration,  the  date  of  their  expiration 
appearing  on  the  card.  In  order  that  a  borrower's  registration 
may  be  easily  found,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  an  alphabetical 
index  to  the  register,  referring  from  the  borrower's  name  to  his 
number,  or  the  same  sort  of  index  on  slips.  This  index  could  be 
used  also  in  connection  with  the  charging-system,  to  find  the  bor- 
rower's number  if  he  should  forget  it.  Account  should  be  kept  of 
the  number  of  expirations  and  the  number  of  renewals  of  library 
privileges,  in  order  that  at  any  time  an  approximate  idea  may  be 
had  of  the  number  of  borrowers  using  the  library.  If  for  any 
reason  a  borrower  should  be  deprived  of  his  privileges,  the  fact 
should  be  recorded  in  the  register  after  his  name. 

The  assessment  and  collection  of  fines  is  the  most  disagreeable 
part  of  a  librarian's  duty. 

Collections  should  be  attended  to  promptly,  in  order  that  fines 
may  not  accumulate  and  become  a  burden  to  the  borrower ;  firmly 
and  without  respect  to  persons ;  if  possible,  by  an  assistant  rather 
than  by  the  librarian,  in  order  that  she  may  shelter  herself  behind 
the  statement  that  it  is  the  rule  of  the  library,  to  change  which  she 
has  no  discretion;  and  if  the  librarian  thinks  best  to  suspend  or 
set  aside  the  rule,  it  should  be  done  at  a  private  interview  and 
never  before  other  borrowers. 


Relations  with  the  Public  37 

The  charge  in  most  libraries  is  two  cents  per  day  for  books 
overdue,  not  counting  Sundays  or  holidays. 

Lost  books  should  be  paid  for  at  a  slight  advance  on  their 
original  cost  to  the  library,  to  offset  the  inconvenience  of  be- 
ing without  them  and  the  work  of  ordering  new  copies  and 
preparing  them  for  circulation. 

A  penalty  should  be  attached  to  the  loss  of  borrowers' 
cards  in  the  form  of  either  a  small  fine  or  a  period  of  waiting 
for  a  new  card,  or  a  combination  of  the  two.  The  disappearance 
of  a  card  means  not  only  inconvenience  to  the  library,  but  also 
possible  loss,  as  some  irresponsible  person  may  find  the  card 
and  use  it,  leaving  no  one  accountable  for  the  fines  or  damages 
charged  on  it. 

The  rules  of  libraries  as  to  borrowing  are  gradually  be- 
coming more  liberal.  Many  libraries  put  no  time-limit  on 
non-fiction,  simply  calling  the  books  in  when  wanted  by  an- 
other borrower  at  any  time  after  one  month.  They  also-  give 
out  one  or  two  novels  and  an  indefinite  number  of  classed 
works  on  a  card  if  desired.  This  liberality  certainly  makes 
for  the  usefulness  and  popularity  of  the  library,  and  need  be 
restricted  only  when  a  small  collection  is  used  by  a  great 
many  people  and  must  be  made  to  serve  as  many  as  possible 
at  a  time. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  CHARGING  SYSTEM 

THE  great  difficulty  in  selecting  a  charging  system  is  to  find 
one  that  will  answer  all  the  questions  the  library  wishes 
answered  from  time  to  time,  in  regard  to  its  accounts  with 
books  and  borrowers,  and  yet  that  can  be  handled  quickly  and 
managed  by  a  few  persons,  perhaps  by  only  one. 

At  inventory-time  the  great  question  is,  "Where  is  821-826, 
which  is  not  on  the  shelves?"  and  the  charging  system  should 
help  to  answer  this.  At  many  other  times  the  inquiry  may  come 
up,  as  call  after  call  for  the  book  without  avail  shows  that  it  is  not 
in  its  place,  and  that  some  one  is  keeping  it  out  longer  than  is 
allowed,  or  that  it  is  temporarily  lost. 

Another  question  that  has  frequently  to  be  answered  is,  "What 

or  how  many  books  are  charged  to  Mr.  or  Mrs. ?"  And  the 

charging  system  should  answer  this,  if  possible. 

It  must  tell  how  long  books  have  been  out  and  how  much 
overdue  they  are,  so  that  fines  may  be  properly  assessed.  It  should 
show  what  class  of  books  is  most  popular,  and  how  all  classes  com- 
pare as  to  circulation. 

Many  borrowers  object  to  carrying  their  cards,  and  the  small 
library  often  undertakes  the  charge  of  them  and  keeps  them  as 
a  part  of  its  charging  system.  The  very  large  public  library  would 
find  this  too  burdensome,  and  therefore  must  require  borrowers 
to  share  something  besides  its  benefits  by  taking  the  responsibility 
of  keeping  their  own  cards. 

We  shall  describe  here  two  systems,  suitable  for  small  libraries 
— one  in  which  the  library  keeps  all  cards  ,and  the  other  in  which 
the  borrower's  card  is  carried  by  himself  and  presented  each  time 


The  Charging  System 


39 


a  book  is  drawn.  The  former  is  not  suitable — at  least  it  would 
mean  a  great  deal  of  trouble — for  a  library  having  over  five  hun- 
dred borrowers.  This  will  be  described  first. 

When  the  book  has  been  catalogued,  a  card  is  made  from  stiff 
vertically-ruled  paper,  if  the  library  cannot  afford  book-cards 
ready-made,  on  which  are  inscribed  at  the  top  the  call-number, 
the  author's  surname,  and  a  very  brief  title,  thus : 

813     S  26 


St 


owe 


Uncle 


To 


m's 


Cab 


Fig.  15. 


40  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

This  is  the  book-card ;  when  a  book  is  in,  its  card  is  kept  in  a 
tray,  or  box  with  partitions,  with  those  of  other  books  not  in  use, 
in  order  of  the  call-numbers. 

Each  borrower,  when  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  library, 
has  had  a  card  made  out  like  the  following,  showing  his  name, 
address,  number  in  the  library-register,  and  the  date  of  expiration 
of  his  privileges : 


462                                            Expiration,  12  Jan.,  '14. 
JOHN  SMITH,  cor.  Brown  and  Green. 

No. 

Due. 

No. 

Due. 

No. 

Due. 

813- 
826 

D5 



Fig.  1 6. 


These  cards  must  be  kept  in  a  tray,  in  order  of  the  borrowers' 
names. 


The  Charging  System 


John  Smith  comes  in  to  get  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  He  has 
the  number  first  on  his  list.  The  book  is  found  in  its  place,  the 
book-card  taken  from  its  tray,  and  placed  to  one  side.  John 


813 

826 

St 

owe 

Un 

cle 

To 

m'l 

Cab 

in 

No. 

Due. 

No. 

Due. 

No. 

Due. 

462 

D5 



Fig.  17. 

Smith's  card  is  then  found  in  the  tray  of  borrowers'  cards  ar- 
ranged by  their  surnames,  and  a  record  made  on  it  in  pencil,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  16. 

On  a  thin  slip  of  paper,  called  the  dating-slip,  pasted  in  the 
back  of  the  book,  is  stamped  D  5  in  order  to  remind  him  when  the 
book  is  due.  Mr.  Smith  can  then  take  his  book  and  go.  The  rest 


42  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

of  the  process  can  be  carried  out  without  his  assistance.  His  card 
will  not  be  put  back  into  the  same  division  of  the  tray  as  before, 
but  into  another  representing  borrowers  who  have  books  out, 
where  cards  are  arranged  by  the  borrowers'  numbers..  Before 
this  is  done,  however,  the  book-card  receives  in  pencil  the  record 
shown  in  Fig.  17. 

This  record  can  be  made  from  the  borrower's  card  at  any  time 
before  that  is  put  into  the  tray  representing  borrowers  with  books 
out;  but  unless  there  are  several  people  waiting  to  be  served,  it 
is  better  to  do  all  the  charging  at  once. 

This  means  that  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  taken  out  by  No. 
462,  and  is  due  on  December  5. 

There  should  be  a  second  tray  or  box,  for  the  book-cards  rep- 
resenting books  out.  When  a  card  is  removed  from  the  first  tray 
to  this,  bearing  the  proper  charge,  it  should  be  filed  away  by  date 
due,  at  the  end  of  the  day,  the  days  being  separated  by  thin  blocks 
of  wood  bearing  the  number  of  the  day  in  the  upper  left-hand  cor- 
ner in  very  black  ink  or  paint,  and  in  large  figures. 


Fig.  18. 

Behind  the  block  marked  5  (which  should  be  taller  than  the 
card,  when  both  are  standing  upright),  will  then  be  placed  the 
book-cards  of  all  books  due  on  the  5th,  arranged  in  the  order 
of  the  call-numbers. 

One  division  of  the  tray  should  be  used  for  the  cards  of  books 


The  Charging  System  43 

out  over  time.  This  division  can  be  subdivided  into  three  or  four 
parts,  one  for  books  over  due  one  week  or  less,  the  next  for  books 
overdue  between  one  and  two  weeks,  etc. 

When  John  Smith  comes  in  to  bring  his  book  back,  the  book- 
card  is  first  found  by  means  of  the  date,  which  appears  on  the 
dating-slip.  From  the  book-card  John  Smith's  number  can  be 
found,  and  the  charge  on  his  card  is  cancelled  either  by  stamping 
the  date  of  return  over  the  date  due,  or  by  punching  through  the 
latter  with  a  small  punch.  If  he  does  not  wish  to  take  out  another 
book,  the  book-card  and  book  can  be  laid  aside,  in  case  of  a  rush, 
and  his  card  looked  up  later.  In  that  case,  his  card  would  go  back 
into  the  first  tray  again,  in  alphabetical  order.  If  he  wishes  an- 
other book,  the  same  process  is  gone  through  as  before.  This 
system  answers  all  possible  questions :  Is  813-526  on  the  shelves? 
(Look  through  tray  of  cards  representing  books  in.)  No.  Who 
has  it?  (Look  through  charging-tray.)  462  has  it.  How  long 
has  he  had  it?  One  week,  December  5th.  Has  John  Smith  a 
book?  (Look  in  tray  arranged  by  borrowers'  surnames.)  Yes, 
What  book?  (Look  for  his  number  in  tray  arranged  by  borrow- 
ers' numbers.)  813-526.  How  long  has  he  had  it?  One  week, 
December  5th.  It  prevents  the  annoyance  of  lost  cards,  as  the  bor- 
rower has  nothing  to  do  with  his  card.  It  prevents  also  all  tam- 
pering with  the  dates  on  the  card.  By  keeping  the  book-cards 
at  the  desk  the  librarian  can  tell  if  a  book  is  in  without  going  to 
the  shelves. 

In  the  other  system  to  be  described,  the  borrower  keeps  his 
own  card,  and  presents  it  when  he  comes  for  a  book  or  brings  one 
back.  This  relieves  the  library  of  the  responsibility  of  identifying 
the  borrower,  as  the  presentation  of  the  card  is  considered  proof 
sufficient  of  his  right  to  draw  a  book.  In  the  village  or  small  town 
library,  identification  would  be  possible  without  the  presentation 
of  a  card,  the  constituency  being  so  small.  The  date  is  then  taken 
either  from  the  dating  slip  or  his  card,  the  latter  is  stamped  with 
the  date  of  return,  and  given  back  to  him,  and  the  book-card  can 
be  picked  out  at  leisure  by  means  of  the  book  and  its  dating-slip, 


44  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

stamped,  and  returned  to  the  tray.  There  might  be  a  compromise 
between  these  systems,  by  which  the  library  should  retain  a  bor- 
rower's card  only  when  he  has  no  book  out,  keeping  such  cards  in 
alphabetical  order,  and  rinding  them  when  needed.  By  invariably 
retaining  the  card  in  this  way,  an  estimate  could  be  made  of  the 
number  of  cards  in  use  as  compared  with  the  number  of  cards 
given  out  to  applicants.  Many  large  libraries  keep  the  book-card 
in  a  pocket  in  the  book,  when  the  book  is  on  the  shelves.  The 
pocket  serves  to  hold  the  borrower's  card,  when  the  book  is  out. 
This  system  necessitates  a  visit  to  the  shelves  to  see  if  the  book  is  in 
when  called  for,  and  this  fact,  with  the  work  of  pasting  in  pockets 
and  putting  cards  in  and  taking  them  out,  makes  the  system 
first  described  here  the  more  advisable  one  for  the  small  library. 

There  are  other  systems  in  which  the  account  is  kept  by  means 
of  the  borrower's  card  only,  in  which  case  it  is  only  as  the  entire 
charging  system  is  overhauled  that  an  answer  can  be  found  to  the 
question,  "Where  is  book  813-826?"  As  this  is  the  question  most 
frequently  asked,  no  system  can  be  called  satisfactory  which  does 
not  answer  it  easily. 

A  useful  charging  system  for  a  small  library  is  that  introduced 
by  Miss  Nina  Browne,  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum  Library,  a  full 
description  of  which  was  given  in  the  Library  journal  for  May, 
1895.  This  requires  a  book-card,  a  book-pocket,  and  a  borrower's 
pocket.  The  borrower's  pocket  has  his  name,  address,  and  regis- 
tration number  plainly  written  on  it.  He  brings  this  pocket  to 
the  library  and  hands  it  in  with  the  list  of  books  wanted.  When 
a  book  is  found  in,  the  book-card  is  taken  from  the  book-pocket 
and  placed  in  the  borrower's  pocket,  and  the  date  stamped  on  the 
book-pocket  or  the  dating-slip.  Then  the  book  is  given  to  the 
borrower.  At  the  end  of  the  day,  all  these  book-cards  in  the  bor- 
rowers' pockets  are  placed  in  a  tray  under  the  date,  arranged  in 
the  order  of  the  call-numbers.  When  the  borrower  brings  back 
the  book,  the 'date  on  the  book-pocket  or  the  dating-slip  shows 
where  to  look  for  the  book-card.  When  it  is  found,  it  is  replaced 
in  the  book-pocket,  and  the  borrower's  pocket  is  returned  to  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


READING-ROOM  AND  REFERENCE-ROOM  WORK 

PERHAPS   you  have  neither   reading-room   nor   reference- 
room,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  you  have  none  of  the 
work  pertaining  to  such  rooms,  for  no  library  can  escape 
something  of  it. 

Everything  is  reading-room  work  that  pertains  to  the  hand- 
ling of  periodicals,  either  magazines  or  papers.  Perhaps  you  keep 
them  behind  the  desk  and  hand  them  out  as  people  ask  for  them, 
and  your  only  reading-room  may  be  the  space  in  front  of  your 
desk.  It  is  a  pity  if  this  is  so,  for  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  a 
reading-room  is  the  freedom  to  handle  the  papers  and  magazines 
without  the  intervention  of  an  assistant.  If  every  number  has  to 
be  receipted  for,  so  much  less  must  be  the  attraction  of  the  room. 
If  you  can  possibly  arrange  it,  have  the  case  or  rack  placed  where 
people  can  help  themselves  to  the  current  numbers,  and  let  them 


Atlantic  Monthly.     (Agent's  name  and  price,  period  covered  by 
volume,  e.g.,  Jan.  —  June,  July  —  Dec.)* 

Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov.  Dec. 

1890 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

1891 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

1892 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

1893 

X 

X 

X 

Fig.  19. 


•  Instead  of  writing  In  the  period  covered  by  the  volume,  It  might  be  suffi- 
cient to  underline  the  cross  in  the  month  which  begins  or  completes  a  volume ; 
in  using  all  such  arbitrary  signs,  however,  there  should  be  somewhere  an  index 
to  their  meaning,  for  the  benefit  of  those  of  the  staff  unfamiliar  with  them. 


Hints  to  Small  Libraries 


do  it  without  requiring  any  writing.  It  is  better  to  let  statistics  go, 
sometimes,  when  they  hinder  the  good  work  the  library  might  be 
doing. 

Keep  a  little  card-catalogue  of  your  periodicals,  with  the  card 
ruled  into  twelve  divisions  representing  months.  (See  Fig  ip.) 

When  your  copy  is  received,  check  it  in  the  square  representing 
the  month  and  year.  If  the  magazine  is  quarterly,  the  same  card 
may  be  used,  the  checks  being  three  months  apart. 

If  it  is  a  weekly,  put  the  necessary  four  or  five  checks  in  each 
square,  giving  the  day  of  the  month  on  which  the  magazine 
was  received,  or  the  number  of  the  magazine  itself,  thus : 


21     22 


23     24 


Fig.  20  (enlarged). 


Fig.  21  (enlarged) 


Keep  your  cards  in  a  box,  in  alphabetical  order,  and  when  one 
side  of  a  card  is  filled,  turn  it  over  and  use  the  other  side.  For 
dailies  it  would  be  easier  to  keep  account  of  the  numbers  which  do 
not  come  than  of  the  300  and  odd  numbers  which  do,  and  report 
the  lapse  at  once  to  the  dealer. 

The  covers  of  magazines  are  likely  to  get  very  much  soiled  and 
worn  while  in  the  reading-room  and  to  be  unfit  for  binding ;  but 
the  same  temporary  binding  can  be  given  to  these  as  to  pamphlets 
or  paper-covered  books,  as  described  in  Chapter  V.  If  covered 
in  this  way,  print  the  title  on  the  outside  in  very  large  letters.  If 
you  can  afford  ready-made  binders,  the  Neilson  is  recommended 
as  the  best  we  have  found,  so  far.  It  is  made  by  the  Boston 
Bookbinding  Co.  Have  posted  up  in  some  conspicuous  place  a  list 
of  the  periodicals  taken  by  the  library,  also  a  list  of  the  bound  sets, 
or  part  of  sets,  with  the  volume-numbers  attached.  This  will  save 
you  the  answering  of  a  great  many  questions.  Some  libraries  cir- 
culate the  single  numbers  of  periodicals,  and  it  is  certainly  a  way 
of  making  their  reading-matter  go  as  far  as  possible.  No  number 


Reading-Room  Work 


47 


should  circulate,  however,  until  the  two  succeeding  ones  have 
come,  as  many  readers,  in  following  a  serial,  call  for  the  current 
number  and  the  previous  one,  in  order  to  get  the  thread  of  the 
story  afresh. 

It  would  be  well  to  have  the  carpenter  make  you  a  rack  for 
your  magazines,  to  be  attached  to  the  wall,  with  pockets  for  hold- 
ing the  current  numbers. 


Fig.  22. 

You  can  probably  spare  wall-space  better  than  the  floor  space 
which  would  be  required  by  a  table-rack. 

For  newspapers,  a  wall-rack  to  hold  the  files  is  desirable,  each 
arm  extending  outward  a  little  farther  than  the  one  above  it 


Fig.  23. 

The  file  holding  the  paper  can  then  be  laid  across  the  arm,  leaving 
the  paper  to  hang  down  parallel  with  the  wall,  without  interfering 
with  the  paper  above  or  below. 

There  are  certain  books  that  you  wish  always  to  have  on  hand 


48  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

for  consultation,  not  for  reading.  Such  books  are  reference  books, 
and  they,  like  the  periodicals,  should  be  where  people  can  get  at 
them  without  asking  for  them  or  signing  a  receipt.  They  are  gen- 
erally large  or  heavy  books,  and  not  apt  to  be  carried  off.  If  you 
cannot  have  a  real  reference-room,  see  if  you  can  have  a  reference- 
corner  in  the  front  of  the  library,  where  every  one  can  see  the 
books.  Place  here  your  dictionaries,  gazetteers,  atlases,  biograph- 
ical dictionaries,  encyclopaedias,  concordances,  etc.,  and  all  indexes 
to  magazines.  When  you  have  a  spare  moment  take  up  these 
works,  one  by  one,  examine  them,  and  find  out  their  intention  and 

vol.    page.        date. 


Escurial.  Harper.  86 :  531  :  Mar.,  93. 


Fig.  24. 


Slavery,  African.  Harper.  86  :  613  :  Mar.,  93. 


Fig-  25. 

scope,  in  order  that  you  may  be  able  to  help  children  and  young 
people  or  persons  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  such  tools.  Take 
special  pains  to  show  children  the  use  of  indexes  and,  indeed,  of  all 
sorts  of  reference-books — they  will  soon  be  familiar  with  them 
and  handle  them  like  life-long  students.  Gain  the  interest  of 
teachers  in  this  sort  of  work  and  urge  them  to  bring  their  classes 
and  make  a  study  of  your  reference-books.  Be  as  helpful  as  you 
can  in  making  out  courses  of  reading  or  study  for  the  village 
clubs,  contributing  for  their  use  lists  of  the  material  in  the  library 
on  the  subject  or  subjects  selected. 


Reading-Room  Work  49 

If  you  cannot  afford  to  subscribe  for  the  various  indexes 
published,  try  to  find  time  to  make  a  little  slip-index  of  your 
own,  arranged  by  subjects,  and  referring  to  articles  in  books, 
magazines  or  papers,  that  are  likely  to  be  of  use.  Make  this  as 
brief  as  possible.  (See  Figs.  24  and  25.) 

If  nothing  or  not  enough  can  be  found  in  your  slip-index, 
the  card  catalogue,  or  the  reference  books,  on  a  given  subject, 
think  what  class  it  would  be  likely  to  come  under,  and  let 
your  student  examine  the  books  in  that  class  likely  to  con- 
tain the  information  he  is  in  search  of,  either  admitting  him 
to  the  shelves  or  taking  the  books  to  the  desk.  In  short,  do 
everything  you  can  think  of  to  make  the  library  the  center  of 
intellectual  life  in  the  town. 

The  interest  that  has  been  aroused  in  the  subject  of  chil- 
dren's reading  is  not  a  new  one,  but  fresh  impetus  and  under- 
standing have  been  given  to  it  by  the  establishment  of  sepa- 
rate library-rooms  for  children,  by  means  of  which  they  can 
be  studied  and  dealt  with  as  a  separate  class.  The  small  library 
can  hardly  hope  to  provide  a  special  room  for  the  purpose, 
but  the  librarian,  on  account  of  the  small  number  of  borrowers 
and  the  fact  that  she  can  easily  know  many  of  them,  has  an 
especially  good  opportunity  for  doing  valuable  work  among 
the  children  who  come  to  her. 

Their  needs  and  wants  should  be  considered  in  the  selec- 
tion of  books  and  periodicals,  they  should  be  helped  in  their 
school-work  as  much  as  possible,  and  taught  to  feel  that  the 
library  is  the  natural  source  of  all  information  that  cannot 
be  had  at  school  or  at  home. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  fifty  works  of  reference  of  the 
greatest  use  in  an  average  library,  compiled  by  Eleanor  B. 
Woodruff,  of  Pratt  Institute  free  library. 


50  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 


FIRST  TWENTY-FIVE 

New  international  year  book;  a  compendium  of  the  world's 
progress.  i9O7-date.  N.  Y.  Dodd.  iQoS-date.  $5  net. 

New  international  encyclopaedia,  ed.  by  D.  C.  Oilman,  H.  T. 
Peck,  F.  M.  Colby.  2ov.  N.  Y.  Dodd.  1902-1907.  $5 
per  vol. 

or 

Appleton's  new  practical  cyclopaedia,  ed.  by  Marcus  Benjamin 
[and  others].  6v.  N.  Y.  Appleton.  1910.  $18. 

Century  cyclopaedia  of  names;  ed.  by  B.  E.  Smith.  N.  Y.  Cen- 
tury co.  1894.  $12.50. 

Century  dictionary,  ed.  by  W.  D.  Whitney.  6v.  N.  Y.  Cen- 
tury co.  1889-1901.  $60. 

Supplement  [to  both],  ed.  by  B.  E.  Smith.  2v.    N.  Y. 
Century  co.  CI9O9.  $15  net. 

Spiers,  Alexander,  and  Surenne,  Gabriel. 

French    and    English,    and    English    and    French    pro- 
nouncing dictionary.  N.  Y.  Appleton.  1886.  $5. 

Appleton's  cyclopaedia  of  American  biography;  ed.  by  J.  G. 

Wilson  and  J.  Fiske.  /v.  N.  Y.  Appleton.  1880-1900. 
$36.  (Now  out  of  print  but  probably  to  be  had  at 
second  hand.) 

Thomas,  Joseph. 

Universal    pronouncing    dictionary    of    biography    and 
mythology.  2v.  Phil.  Lippincott.  1901.  $15. 

Who's  who?  i897-date,  ed.  by  Douglas  Sladen.  L.  Black.  1897- 
date.  los  net. 


Reading-Room  Work  51 

Who's  who  in  America?  iSQQ-date,  ed.  by  A.  N.  Marquis.  Chic. 
A.  N.  Marquis  and  co.  i899-date.  $5. 

Revised  and  re-issued  biennially. 

Bartlett,  John. 

Familiar  quotations;  a  collection  of  passages,  phrases 
and  proverbs  traced  to  their  sources  in  ancient  and 
modern  literature.  B.  Little.  1900.  $3. 

Brewer,  E.  C. 

Reference  library.  Phil.  Lippincott.  1891-1899.  $3.50 
each. 

Reader's  Handbook. 

Dictionary  of  phrase  and  fable. 

Historic  notebook. 

(A  fourth  volume,  Dictionary  of  miracles,  is  unimportant.) 

Harper's  book  of  facts;  comp.  by  J.  H.  Willsey.  N.  Y.  Har- 
per. 1906.  $8. 

Lalor,  J.  J. 

Cyclopaedia  of  political  science,  political  economy,  and 
of  the  political  history  of  the  U.  S.  3v.  N.  Y.  Mer- 
rill. 1881-84.  $15. 

Bliss,  W.  P.  D.,  and  Binder,  R.  M. 

New  cyclopedia  of  social  reform.  N.  Y.  Funk.  1908. 
$7.50. 

Lamed,  J.  N. 

History  for  ready  reference  from  the  best  historians,  bi- 
ographers and  specialists.  Rev.  and  enl.  7v.  Spring- 
field, Mass.  Nichols.  1894-1910.  $52.50. 

Statesman's  year-book:  Statistical  and  historical  annual  of 
the  states  of  the  world,  ed.  by  J.  S.  Keltic.  L.  Mac- 
millan.  IDS  6d. 


52  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

World  almanac   and   encyclopedia.    N.  Y.  Press  pub.  co.  250 
net,  per  year. 

New  Schaff-Herzog  encyclopedia  of  religious  knowledge;  ed.  by 

S.  M.  Jackson  [and  others].  i2v.  N.  Y.  Funk.  1908- 
1911.    $60. 

v.  9-12  not  yet  published. 

Peck,  H.  T. 

Harper's  Dictionary  of  classical  literature  and  antiqui- 
ties.  N.  Y.  Harper.  1897.    $6. 

Lippincott,  J.  B. ,  co. 

Complete  pronouncing  gazetteer  of  the  world;  ed.  by 
Angelo  Heilprin  [and  others].  Phil.  Lippincott.  1906. 

$10.' 

Rand,  McNally  and  co.'s  indexed  atlas  of  the  world.    2v.  Chic. 
Rand,  McNally  &  co.  1907.  $20. 

Ringwalt,  R.  C. 

Briefs   on   public    questions.    N.    Y.    Longmans.    1905. 
$1.20.  • 

Debaters'  handbook  series.     TV.    Minn.,  H.  W.  Wilson  co. 
1905-1909.  $i  net  each. 

Readers'  guide  to  periodical  literature.    1900-1904,  ed.  by  A. 
N.  Guthrie.  Minn.  H.  W.  Wilson  co.  1905  $16. 

Readers'  guide  to  periodical  literature.      i9O5~date.  Minn.  H. 
W.  Wilson  co.  1905-date.  $12  a  year. 

This  includes  monthly  parts  and  yearly  accumulations. 

Hopkins,  A.  A. 

Scientific  American  cyclopaedia  of  receipts,  notes  and 
queries,  N.  Y.  Munn.  1903.  $5.- 


Reading-Room  Work  53 


SECOND  TWENTY-FIVE 

Webster,  Noah. 

New  international  dictionary.  Springfield,  Mass.  Mer- 
riam,  1910.  $12. 

Lewis,  C.  T.,  and  Short,  C. 

Latin    dictionary.    Oxford.    Clarendon    press.    1896.    255. 

Thieme,  F.  W.,  and  Preusser,  E. 

New  and  complete  critical  dictionary  of  the  English 
and  German  languages.  Hamburg.  Haendcke.  1905. 
12.50  marks. 

Chambers,  Robert. 

Books  of  days.  2v.  Phil.  Lippincott.  1891.  $7. 

Harper's  Encyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  history  from  458-1902.  lov. 
N.  Y.  Harper.  1902.    $31. 

Labberton,  R.  H. 

New  historical  atlas  and  general  history.  N.  Y.  Silver. 
1901.  $1.25. 

New  England  history  teachers'  association. 

History  syllabus  for  secondary  schools.  B.  Heath.  1907. 
$1.20  net. 

Champlin,  J.  D. 

Young  folks'  cyclopaedia  of  common  things.  N.  Y.  Holt. 

1896.  $2.50. 
Young  folks'  cyclopaedia  of  persons  and  places.   N.  Y. 

Holt.  1911.  $3. 


54  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

Young   folks'    cyclopaedia   of   literature   and  art.   N.   Y. 

Holt.  1901.  $2.50. 
Young  folks'  cyclopaedia  of  natural  history.  N.  Y.  Holt. 

1905.  $2.50. 

Smith,  Sir  William. 

Classical  dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  biography, 
mythology,  and  geography.  New  ed.,  rev.  and  in  part 
rewritten  by  G.  E.  Marindin.  N.  Y.  Appleton.  1894. 
$6. 

Adeline,  Jules. 

Art  dictionary.  N.  Y.  Appleton.  1891.  $2.25. 

Riemann,   Hugo. 

Dictionary  of  music.  L.  Augener.  1899.  155  net. 

Strong,  James. 

Exhaustive  concordance  of  the  Bible.  N.  Y.  Hunt. 
1894.  $6. 

Bartlett,  John. 

New  and  complete  concordance  to  Shakespeare.  N.  Y. 
Macmillan.  1894.  $7.50. 

Welsh,  A.  H. 

English  masterpiece  course.  B.  Silver.  ciSS/.  750. 

Hoyt,  J.  K. 

Cyclopedia  of  practical  quotations.  N.  Y.  Funk.  1896. 
$6. 

Bryant,  W.  C. 

New  library  of  poetry  and  song.  N.  Y.  Baker.  1900. 
$5-' 


Reading-Room  Work  55 

lies,  George. 

Bibliography  of  fine  arts;  Painting  and  sculpture, 
etc.,  by  Russell  Sturgis;  Music,  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel. 
B.  A.  L.  A.  publishing  section,  1897.  $i. 

Now  out  of  print  but  sometimes  to  be  had  at  second  hand. 

Leyboldt,  A.  H.,  and  lies,  George,   eds. 

List  of  books  for  girls  and  women  and  their  clubs. 
B.  A.  L.  A.  publishing  section.  1895.  $i. 

Also  issued  in  5  parts,  small  size  5c  each. 
Schauffler,  R.  H. 

Our  American  holidays.  N.  Y.  Moffat.  1907-10.    $i 
net  per  vol. 

Christmas. 
Thanksgiving. 
Lincoln's  birthday. 
Arbor  day. 
Washington's  birthday. 

Annual  library  index.     i892-date.   N.   Y.    Publishers'   week- 
ly. i9O3-date.  $5  per  vol. 

Early  volumes  had  the  title  Annual  literary  index,  and  were  $3.50 
per  vol. 

Granger,  Edith. 

Index  to  poetry  and  recitations.   Chic.  McClurg.  1904. 

$5-. 
Bailey,  L.  H. 

Cyclopedia  of  American  agriculture.  4v.  N.  Y.  Mac- 
millan.  1908.  $5  per  vol. 

Thorpe,  T.  E. 

Dictionary  of  applied  chemistry.  3v.  L.  Longmans. 
1894.  £7  75. 

Baedeker,  Karl. 

United  States,  with  excursions  to  Mexico,  Cuba, 
Porto  Rico  and  Alaska.  N.  Y.  Scribner.  1909.  $4.50. 


CHAPTER  IX 
SELECTING  AND  ORDERING  BOOKS 

SOME  general  rules: 
Of  standard  authors,  get  well-bound  and  well-printed 
editions,  and  save  rebinding  and  readers'  eyes. 

Of  books  in  science,  useful  arts,  social  and  political  science 
and  economy,  get  the  latest  editions. 

Of  classics,  get  some  full  edition,  such  as  Bonn's. 

Of  novels  (by  authors  not  called  standard),  get  such  an 
edition  as  the  Tauchnitz,  and  bind. 

Of  translations  from  the  French  and  German,  get  only  the 
very  best,  such  as  Wormeley's  Balzac,  or  Wister's  transla- 
tions from  the  German,  and  buy  on  approval  in  order  that 
you  may  return  them  if  found  unsuitable. 

Do  not  buy  French  or  German  works  in  the  original,  if 
there  are  good  translations,  unless  you  have  plenty  of  money. 
They  are  expensive,  and  in  a  small  place  there  would  prob- 
ably not  be  much  call  for  them. 

If  you  have  the  original  purchase  of  books  to  make,  divide 
your  stock  that  is  to  be,  into  ten  classes,  and  make  out  your 
list  of  books  by  classes.  Take  the  catalogue  of  the  Model 
Library  of  8,000  volumes,  prepared  by  the  American  Library 
Association,  published  by  the  Library  of  Congress  in  1904, 
and  by  it  distributed  free  to  libraries;  go  through  its  list  of 
fiction  and  check  off  on  your  list  the  works  of  standard  novel- 
ists ;  do  the  same  for  children's  stories.  Follow  this  plan  with 
regard  to  other  classes,  leaving  out  all  works  of  which  you 
feel  doubtful.  The  A.  L.  A.  Booklist  will  enable  you  to  bring 
your  stock  down  to  date. 


Selecting  and  Ordering  Books  57 

When  your  lists  are  made,  take  each  class  to  some  one  in 
the  town  or  village  whose  reading  or  study  has  been  in  that 
particular  line,  and  submit  the  list  for  alterations  and  addi- 
tions. Do  not  feel  bound  to  accept  all  the  additions,  if  you 
think  you  already  have  enough  books  or  as  many  as  you  can 
afford,  nor  the  alterations,  if  you  have  reason  to  think  your 
reviser  prejudiced. 

In  the  A.  L.  A.  Catalog  you  will  find  publishers'  prices 
given.  Having  noted  these  opposite  each  title,  for  your  own 
use,  submit  a  copy  of  the  list  to  several  large  bookdealers, 
choosing  those  nearest  your  town  in  order  to  lessen  the  charges 
for  transportation  and  insure  the  early  receipt  of  books,  and 
ask  for  their  discount. 

Desirable  out-of-print  books,  the  small  library  will  usually 
have  to  do  without,  on  account  of  the  expense  of  keeping  an 
agent  on  the  lookout  for  them.  It  is  good  to  have  a  list  of 
such  out-of-print  books  as  are  wanted,  and  to  take  it  to  the 
nearest  city  when  you  go,  with  a  view  to  picking  up  some 
of  the  books  in  the  second-hand  shops ;  or  to  intrust  this  duty 
to  the  minister  or  the  school  principal,  or  some  such  person, 
giving  him  a  limit  in  price.  If  you  have  a  board  of  directors 
or  trustees,  some  one  of  them  might  occasionally  do  this. 

After  your  first  stock  is  bought,  your  next  care  must  be  to 
prevent  duplicates,  for  no  library  has  money  to  spare  for  more 
copies  of  a  book  than  are  needed. 

If  your  card-catalogue  is  kept  strictly  up  to  date,  there  is 
very  little  danger  of  duplicates,  as  before  sending  an  order 
every  item  should  be  compared  with  this  record,  and  also  with 
any  outstanding  orders.  But  it  often  happens  that  in  the 
press  of  work  the  catalogue  is  not  up  to  date.  A  list  on  slips 
of  those  books  on  hand  which  have  not  yet  been  catalogued 
then  becomes  necessary.  It  is  better  to  keep  this  list  on  slips 
in  order  to  insert  fresh  slips  in  their  proper  alphabetical  order. 

The  order-list,  if  kept  on  slips,  may  serve  for  this  list  also, 


58  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

for  as  soon  as  a  book  is  received  and  checked  on  the  bill,  the 
fact  with  date  and  price  can  be  noted  on  the  order-slip,  and  the 
slip  transferred  to  another  box  of  slips  representing  books 
received  but  not  yet  catalogued. 

These  order-slips  should  not  take  much  time  to  make, 
having  only  the  author's  surname,  brief  title,  volume  number  or 
number  of  volumes,  abbreviated  note  of  place,  publisher,  year, 
if  other  than  the  current  year,  publisher's  price,  if  known,  and 
name  of  dealer.  It  may  even  answer  its  main  purpose  by  hav- 
ing a  record  only  of  the  items  here  italicized.  By  consulting 
the  order-list,  "received'Mist,  and  catalogue,  you  make  the 
chance  of  ordering  a  duplicate  infinitely  small. 

Of  course,  in  a  very  small  library,  the  librarian  knows  her 
books  pretty  well  and  can  better  depend  on  her  memory  of  its 
contents  than  in  a  larger  one;  but  buying  a  duplicate  means 
not  buying  some  other  book  that  you  want,  and  it  is  better 
to  take  some  certain  means  of  avoiding  the  former  purchase. 

For  selection  of  current  books,  two  or  three  of  the  critical 
and  literary  periodicals  taken  in  the  reading-room  may  be 
used  as  guides ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  Nation  of  New  York, 
and  the  Dial  of  Chicago.  Booksellers'  publications  are  not  safe 
to  buy  from  without  further  investigation,  as  their  reviews 
are  naturally  nothing  if  not  favorable.  For  the  selection  of 
good  books  for  children,  the  librarian  is  referred  to  the  fol- 
lowing lists : 

Arnold,  Gertrude  Weld.  A  mother's  list  of  books  for  chil- 
dren. Chic.  McClurg.  1909.  $i  net. 

Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh.  Catalogue  of  books  anno- 
tated and  arranged  and  graded  for  the  use  of  the  first 
eight  grades  in  the  Pittsburgh  schools.  Pub.  by  the 
Carnegie  Library.  1907.  Paper,  5oc. 

Hassler,  Harriot  E. 

Graded  list  of  stories  for  reading  aloud.   New  ed.   Pub. 
by  League  of  library  commissions.  1910.  loc. 


Selecting  and  Ordering  Books  59 

Kennedy,  Helen  T. 

Suggestive  list  of  children's  books  for  a  small  library. 
Wisconsin  library  commission,  Madison,  Wis. 
1910. 


Moore,  Annie  Carroll.  A  list  of  books  recommended  for  a 
children's  library.  Comp.  for  the  Iowa  library  com- 
mission. [Des  Moines.  1904.]  IDC. 

Sargent,  J.  F. 

Reading  for  the  young  :  a  classified  and  annotated  cata- 
logue with  an  alphabetical  author-index.  (Prepared 
for  publication  by  M.  E.  and  Abby  L.  Sargent,  and 
issued  by  the  A.  L.  A.  pub.  sec.)  Bost.  Library  Bu- 
reau. 1890.  $i. 

Supplement  to  Reading  for  the  young:  a  classified  and 
annotated  catalogue  with  alphabetical  author-index 
and  subject-index  to  the  complete  work;  comp.  by 
Mary  E.  and  Abby  L.  Sargent.  Pub.  for  the  A.  L.  A. 
pub.  sec.  by  the  Library  Bureau.  Boston.  1896.  $i. 

Stanley,  Harriet  H. 

550  children's  books  :  a  purchase  list  for  public  libraries. 
A.  L.  A.  publishing  board.  1910.  I5c. 


CHAPTER  X 
ROOMS  AND  FIXTURES 

IT  is  not  often  that  the  librarian  has  a  chance  to  say  how  he 
would  like  his  library  planned  and  fitted  up,  though  it  is 
oftener  the  case  now  than  formerly.  Library  Boards  would 
think  it  a  very  eccentric  proceeding  to  order  a  suit  of  clothes  or  a 
hat  for  the  librarian  without  consulting  him ;  and  if  it  were  done, 
and  the  sleeves  came  only  to  his  elbows,  or  the  coat-tails  dragged, 
or  the  hat  brim  rested  on  his  shoulders,  they  would  at  once  see 
what  foolishness  they  had  been  guilty  of,  and  say  to  one  another, 
"Why  on  earth  didn't  we  consult  him  and  take  his  measure  ?  He 
can't  see  anything  with  that  hat  on,  and  he'll  be  forever  stepping 
on  that  coat.  He  was  the  one  to  wear  it ;  he  knows  what  he  needs, 
and  we  ought  to  have  asked  him."  But  they  seem  not  to  see  the 
similarity  of  such  a  course  to  that  of  building  the  librarian  a  work- 
shop without  asking  his  opinion  about  it.  They  give  him  little 
high  windows  that  don't  let  in  any  light,  and  they  build  him 
shelves  that  he  has  to  climb  up  to  on  a  ladder,  and  they  arrange 
the  spaces  of  the  library  symmetrically,  but  where  they  can  be  of 
no  value  in  the  case  of  growth  and  crowding.  Then  they  go 
outside,  and  look  at  it  and  say,  "Isn't  it  picturesque?  Looks  like 
the  Middle  Ages,  doesn't  it?"  And  in  their  secret  hearts,  some  of 
them  would  like  a  drawbridge  and  a  moat.  And  inside,  the  poor 
librarian  is  carrying  a  lantern  about  to  see  the  top  and  bottom 
shelves,  and  wondering  where  he  is  going  to  put  the  next  new 
book,  and  risking  his  neck  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the  ground  to 
get  a  "Commentary  on  Job"  that  some  one  without  any  sense 
of  the  ridiculous  happens  to  want,  and  trying  to  hide  his  un- 
sightly pastepots  and  mucilage  bottles  behind  a  screen  for  want 
of  a  work-room.  But  perhaps  the  librarian  is  as  new  at  the  work 


Rooms  and  Fixtures  61 

as  the  trustees,  and  could  not  give  an  opinion,  if  asked.  In  that 
case,  a  collection  of  the  printed  matter  on  library  architecture 
should  be  carefully  studied  by  both  trustees  and  librarian  before 
any  plans  are  made. 

While  no  specific  plans  can  be  recommended  that  would  suit 
all  cases,  there  are  a  few  general  rules  that  meet  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  library  profession  as  a  whole.  These  were  summed 
up  at  the  twelfth  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Library  Asso- 
ciation in  1891,  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Soule,  of  Boston,  the  whole  of  whose 
admirable  paper  may  be  found  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Associa- 
tion for  that  year : 

"A  library  building  should  be  planned  for  library  work. 

"Every  library  building  should  be  planned  especially  for  the 
kind  of  work  to  be  done,  and  the  community  to  be  served. 

'The  interior  arrangement  ought  to  be  planned  before  the 
exterior  is  considered. 

"No  convenience  of  arrangement  should  ever  be  sacrificed  for 
mere  architectural  effect. 

"The  plan  should  be  adapted  to  probabilities  and  possibilities 
of  growth  and  development. 

"Simplicity  of  decoration  is  essential  in  the  work-rooms  and 
reading-rooms. 

"A  library  should  be  planned  with  a  view  to  economical  ad- 
ministration. 

"The  rooms  for  public  use  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  allow 
complete  supervision  with  the  fewest  possible  attendants. 

"There  should  be  as  much  natural  light  as  possible  in  all  parts 
of  the  building. 

"Windows  should  extend  up  to  the  ceiling,  to  light  thoroughly 
the  upper  part  of  every  room. 

"Windows  in  a  book-room  should  be  placed  opposite  the 
intervals  between  book-cases. 

"The  arrangement  of  books  in  tiers  of  alcoves  and  galleries 
around  a  large  h^ll  ...  is  considered  entirely  obsolete. 
The  old  style  of  shelving  around  the  walls,  in  alcoves  and  in 


62  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

galleries,  has  been  generally  superseded  by  the  use  of  'floor- 
cases' — that  is,  double  book-cases  arranged  in  parallel  lines 
across  the  floor  of  a  room 

"In  a  circulating  library  the  books  most  in  use  should  be 
shelved  in  floor-cases  close  to  the  delivery-desk. 

"In  the  floor-cases  of  a  reference  library  the  upper  shelves 
should  be  narrower  than  those  below,  with  a  ledge  about  three 
feet  from  the  floor. 

"Three  feet  between  floor-cases  is  ample  for  all  purposes 
of  administration. 

"No  shelf,  in  any  form  of  book-case,  should  be  higher  than 
a  person  of  moderate  height  can  reach  without  a  step-ladder. 

"Shelving  for  folios  and  quartos  should  be  provided  in 
every  book-room. 

"Straight  flights  are  preferable  to  circular  stairs " 

It  might  be  added  that  shelves  should  not  be  more  than 
two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  long,  on  account  of  the  tendency 
to  sag,  and  that  a  height  of  ten  inches  and  depth  of  eight 
inches  are  good  dimensions  for  ordinary  shelves.  In  double- 
faced  cases,  as  in  the  floor-cases  referred  to-,  the  depth  of  shelf 
would  be  sixteen  inches  from  face  to  face.  In  most  libraries 
shelves  are  made  adjustable,  to  fit  varying  heights  of  books, 
and  save  vertical  space. 

A  tract  embodying  Mr.  Soule's  views  and  those  of  many 
librarians,  has  been  published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 
for  the  American  Library  Association,  under  the  title  "Li- 
brary rooms  and  buildings."  The  date  of  this  is  1902,  and 
it  may  be  had  by  applying  to  the  Publishing  Board  of  the 
A.  L.  A.,  i  Washington  Street,  Chicago.  The  Board  pub- 
lishes also  Eastman's  "Library  buildings,"  at  10  cents,  and 
in  1908  brought  out  Marvin's  "Plans  for  small  library  build- 
ings," price  $1.25. 


CHAPTER  XI 
LIBRARY    TOOLS 

Ch.  I.      Receiving  and  entering  books ;  requires 

Pencil  with  colored  lead  (for  checking). 
Small  blank-book  for  counter-charges. 
Table  of  the  1,000  classification  heads,  or  of  the  Ex- 
pansive classification. 
Entry-ledger  or  accessions-book. 

Ch.  2.      Book= numbers  and  cataloguing;  requires 

Table  of  Cutter  or  Cutter-Sanborn  book-numbers. 
Index  size  catalogue-cards. 
Catalogue  drawer,  or  box  with  rod  and  lid. 
Red  ink  for  subject-headings,  blue  ink  for  call-num- 
bers, pencil  and  ink  erasers. 
i 

Ch.  3.    Cataloguing;  aids  advised: 

American  Library  Association. 

Booklist.  1905-date.  v.  i-date.  B.  A.  L.  A-.  pub- 
lishing section.  i9O5~date.  $i  per  year. 

Annotated.  Books  classified  by  both  decimal  and  expansive  systems, 
subjects  assigned,  and  publisher's  price  given. 

American  Library  Association. 

Booklist  subject  index.  i9O5~June.  1910.  Chicago. 
A.  L.  A.  pub.  board.  1910.  Paper,  4oc. 

American  Library  Association. 

Catalog  rules;  author  and  title  entries,  Ameri- 
can edition.  B.  A.  L.  A.  publishing  section.  1908. 
6oc. 


Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

American  Library  Association. 

List  of  subject-headings  for  use  in  dictionary  cata- 
logs. Chicago.  A.  L.  A.  publishing  board.  $2. 

New  edition  in  preparation. 

Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh. 

Classified  catalogue,  1895-1902.  3v.  Pittsburgh, 
1907.  $12. 

1902-1906.  Sen  2.  2v.  Pittsburgh.  1908.  $5. 
Books  classified  by  decimal  system. 

Cutter,  C.  A. 

Expansive  classification.  2  pts.  B.  Library  Bu- 
reau. i89i-date.  $5. 

Part  2  completely  printed  except  a  portion  of  the  natural  sciences 
and  the  general  index.  The  remainder  is  in  manuscript,  and  is 
being  printed. 

Cutter,  C.  A. 

Rules  for  a  dictionary  catalogue.  Wash.  Bureau  of 
Education.  Ed.  4.  1904.  Paper,  2Oc. 

Detroit,  Mich.,  Public  Library. 

General  catalogue,  third  supplement.  1899-1903.  De- 
troit. 1904. 

Dewey,  Melvil. 

Abridged  decimal  classification  and  relative  index 
for  libraries,  clippings,  notes,  etc.  B.  Library 
Bureau.  (ci894.)  $1.50  net. 

Hitchler,  Theresa. 

Cataloguing  for  small  libraries.  B.  A.  L.  A.  pub- 
lishing section.  1905.  (A.  L.  A.  Handbook,  2.) 
Paper,  I5c. 

Library  journal. 

Chiefly  devoted  to  library  economy  and  bibliography. 
i876-date.  N.  Y.  $5  per  year. 

Reduced  rate  to  library  assistants. 

Official  organ  of  the  American  library  association,  1876-1906. 


Library  Tools  65 

Library  journal. 

Index  to  v.  1-22.  N.  Y.  1898.  $1.50 

Public  libraries. 

A  monthly  review  of  library  matters  and  methods. 
i8o6-date.  Chic.,  n.  d.  $2. 

U.  5.  Library  of  Congress. 

A.  L.  A.  Catalog ;  8,000  volumes  for  a  popular  library, 
with  notes,  prepared  by  the  New  York  State  Library 
and  the  Library  of  Congress  under  the  auspices  of 
the  A.  L.  A.  publishing  board.  Wash.  Govt.  pr.  off. 
1904.  $i. 

Books  classified  by  both  decimal  and  expansive  system,  and  catalogue  both 
classed  and  dictionary. 

Ch.  4.     Shelf-list  and  inventory ;    requires 
Index  size  shelf-list  cards. 
Drawer  or  box  with  rod  and  lid,  for  shelf-list. 
Small  blank-book  for  recording  books  missing  at 
time  of  inventory. 

Ch.  5.  Mechanical  preparation  of  books  for  the  shelves,  and 
binding;  requires 

Rubber  stamp  to  stamp  library  ownership. 

Labels. 

Mucilage. 

Tissue-paper. 

Cheese  cloth. 

Book-muslin,  dark. 

Blank-book  for  recording  books  sent  to  binder. 

Slips  of  paper. 

Binding  ruler. 

Rope-manila  paper  for  covering  pamphlets. 

Classified  illustrated  catalogue  of  the  library  de- 
partment of  Library  Bureau :  a  handbook  of  li- 
brary fittings  and  supplies.  B.  Library  Bureau. 
1897. 


66  Hints  to  Small  Libraries 

Ch.  6.     Registration ;  requires 

Register  for  borrowers,  with  pledge,  and  alpha- 
betical index  on  slips. 

Small  book  for  keeping  trace  of  unpaid  fines  and 
damages,  arranged  by  date  when  book  became 
due  or  loss  was  incurred. 

Ch.  7.     Charging-system:  requires 

Pockets  (if  borrower  is  to  keep  his  card). 

Book-cards. 

Borrowers'  cards. 

Dating-slips. 

Dating-stamps. 

Ch.  8.     Reading-room  and  reference-room  work;  requires 
Athenaeum  newspaper  files,  for  a  week's  numbers. 
Atwater  files,  for  one  number. 
Cards  for  check-list  of  periodicals. 
Paper  for  binding  current  numbers  of  magazines, 

unless  ready-made  binders  are  used. 
Nielson  binders,  if  ready-made  binders  are  used. 
Card-board  for  lists. 
Slips  for  subject-index. 
Helps  in  reference-room  work. 

Baker,  Ernest  A.    History  in  fiction.    L., 

Routledge.  N.  Y.  Button  n.  d. 
Boston  Book  co.,  Bulletin  of  bibliography, 
April,  i897~date,  containing  a  variety  of 
valuable  lists  and  indexes. 
Chicago  public  library.     Special  lists. 
St.    Louis    public    library.    Bulletin,    giving 

special  lists. 

Salem  public  library.  Bulletin,  giving  good 
reading-lists. 


*For  American  books 
and  American  reprints 
of  English  books. 


For  English  books. 


Library  Tools  67 

Ch.  9.     Selecting  and  ordering  books  ;   requires 

Slips  for  order-list  and  received-list. 

Dial  (weekly). 

t Literary  News  (monthly). 

Nation  (weekly). 

^Publishers'  Weekly. 

Athenaeum. 

Saturday  Review. 

Spectator.  J 

Catalogue  of  A.  L.  A.  Model  Library,  for  help  in 
selecting  original  stock,  issued  by  the  Library  of 
Congress. 

American  Catalogue  of  books  in  print  from  1876- '96, 
5  v.  with  annual  supplement. 

English  Catalogue,  i835~'96,  5  v.  with  annual  supple- 
ment. 

American  publications  of  any  one  year,  arranged  by 
publishers,  Trade  List  Annual. 

English  publications  of  any  one  year,  arranged  by 
publishers,  Reference  Catalogue  of  Current  Litera- 
ture. 

"And  with  all  thy  getting,"  get  the  Library  journal  and  Public 
libraries,  each  year,  if  the  money  has  to  come  out  of  your  own 
purse.  It  will  give  you  more  than  the  worth  of  the  money,  in 
courage,  enthusiasm,  ambition,  and  the  feeling  of  belonging  to  a 
great  system,  which,  says  Walter  Pater,  "has,  in  itself,  the  ex- 
panding power  of  a  great  experience." 


.0 

o 


•  Most  English  books  that  would  be  wanted  by  a  small  library  would  be  re- 
viewed in  American  critical  journals, 
t  Booksellers'  publications. 


Addresses  of  firms  and  individuals  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  chapters : 

("Boston  530  Atlantic  Avenue. 
Library  Bureau,  -I  New  York»  Stewart  Building,  Broadway. 

^Chicago,  162  Wabash  Avenue. 
P.  Van  Everen  &  Co.,  60  Ann  Street,  New  York  City. 

American  Catalogue,  "|  Office  of  Publishers'   Weekly,  298  Broadway, 

Annual  English  Catalogue, J  New  York. 

Library  Journal,  298  Broadway,  New  York. 
Public  Libraries,  156  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago. 
Boston  Bookbinding  Co.,  Boston. 
Boston  Book  Co.,  83-91  Francis  Street,  Boston. 
Multum  in  Parvo  Binding  Co.,  34  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia. 


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